As contact tracing system ramps up caused WA enters first full day of COVID lockdown

As of 6:00pm AWST yesterday, Perth, the Peel region and the South West region went into a five-day lockdown, with people in those areas required to stay at home.

Results from genomic testing are not expected until later today or tomorrow, but authorities have flagged the man could have the UK strain of the virus as he was on a hotel floor where a positive case was under quarantine.

The man in his twenties worked at a quarantine hotel in the Perth CBD on Tuesday, January 26 and Wednesday, January 27, at which stage he is believed to have contracted the virus.

On Thursday, January 28, he developed symptoms and called in sick to work before being tested.

The patient had tested negative for the virus on January 15, January 17, and January 23.

Because he returned negative test results prior to those shifts, contact tracers are focusing on a 6-day period of his movements from January 25 to 30.

A list of places he had been to over that time was released on Sunday, and authorities have warned that list may grow over the coming days.

The UK strain is known to be far more contagious than the original.

Mass testing of people living in the same area has been underway, along with those from known exposure sites.