A hotel security guard in Perth accidentally caught COVID-19 from a returned traveller, sending the state into lockdown.

The guard had been working on a floor of Sheraton’s Four Points Hotel in Perth where a traveller with the highly infectious UK strain had been quarantining.

Perth Premier Mark McGowan said that the man hadn’t suffered from symptoms usually associated with COVID-19, but it’s believed the guard contacted the virus as early as January 25 or 26 and spent days out in the community.

“He went to a doctor because he was unwell. I’m advised sometimes some of the symptoms of COVID are not what you might think,” Mr McGowan said.

“They’re sometimes not respiratory. It can manifest itself in other ways and so he may not have thought it was COVID related because his symptoms may not have been the traditionally understood symptoms of COVID.

“So he went to the doctor, he then got a COVID test after that. (Those are) the details we’re trying to work out as we speak to work out exactly how it occurred.”

The whole Perth metropolitan area, the Peel Region and the South-West region of Western Australia is currently in a five-day lockdown that started last night and ends on Friday, February 5th. This means nearly 2 million people are in hard lockdown.

Here is a list of potential exposure sites in Perth, as the security guard is believed to have visited the following places while infected. Anyone whose visited the sites below should be tested immediately.

  • Coles Maylands supermarket on 25 January from 8 pm to 10pm
  • KFC Maylands on 27 January from 6 pm to midnight
  • Mitsubishi Motors car dealership in Midland on 27 January from 7 pm to close
  • Spudshed, Coventry Village in Morley on 27 January from 8 pm to midnight
  • ECU Joondalup on 28 January from 11 am to 2pm
  • Consulate General of India on St Georges Terrace in Perth on 28 January from 12 pm to 5pm
  • Halal Grocery Store in Cloverdale on 28 January from 7 pm to 9pm
  • Venus Ladies and Gentleman Hair Design Maylands hairdressers on 29 January from 1 pm to 3pm
  • Perth Convention Centre on 29 January from 4 pm to 6pm
  • Nedlands Family Practice GP surgery on 29 January from 5 pm to 6pm
  • Chemist Warehouse North Perth Pharmacy on 29 January from 5.30 pm to 7.30pm
  • 7-Eleven Ascot petrol station on 29 January from 8 pm to 9pm
  • Coles Maylands supermarket on 29 January from 8 pm 9pm
  • Puma Service Station in Burswood on 30 January from 11 am to 12 midday.
  • Coles Express/Shell Service Station in Cloverdale on 30 January from 12 midday to 3pm
  • Pharmacy 777 at Maylands Park Shopping Centre 30 January from 2.30 pm to 4pm.