The stream of COVID-19 cases in WA has slowed to a trickle in recent days, but WA Health Minister Roger Cook has made it clear the fight is not over — it is just beginning.

Key points: WA recorded just nine new cases of COVID-19 yesterday

WA recorded just nine new cases of COVID-19 yesterday But authorities warn this just buys the state more time to prepare

But authorities warn this just buys the state more time to prepare Stopping transmission too much could actually endanger WA's population

"We are not out of the woods. We are sailing into this storm, not out of it," he said.

In recent weeks it had become almost routine for Mr Cook to announce between 20 to 30 new WA cases each day, but this week the numbers fell.

There were 17 recorded on Monday, outside of cruise ship passengers, and just 9 on Tuesday.

The decline has been attributed to the strict border controls and social distancing measures now enforced in WA.

Mr Cook said the numbers were encouraging, but he cautioned against complacency.

He said the welcome figures showed the state was merely "putting the brakes on" so the health system could prepare for the inevitable arrival of more widespread COVID-19 infections.

He was resolute that WA could not avoid coronavirus and that he remained committed to the national goal of "flattening the curve".

The aim of this is not to stop transmission of the virus altogether, but to slow it to a manageable level so hospitals do not become overwhelmed.

"What we are trying to do is manage the spread of the disease, so it doesn't overwhelm our health system as you've seen in New York and Italy," Mr Cook said.

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WA can't be a COVID-free island

Despite the low number of new cases, a New Zealand-style elimination approach towards the virus is not on the table for WA.

Such an approach could see WA eradicate the virus locally but then be forced to keep the state's borders locked down until the nation rode out the pandemic.

"Ultimately Western Australia cannot become an island in a global community which has COVID-19," Mr Cook said.

The Health Minister said a vaccine was considered too distant in the future and the approach could see Western Australia forced to maintain "draconian" public health measures for much longer than the rest of the nation.

It could also lead to a scenario where, before a vaccine became available, enough people would have been infected and then recovered from the virus in the eastern states for effective herd immunity to start to be achieved.

As the eastern states resumed normal functioning, WA would then be forced to maintain border controls and locked-down conditions as West Australians would still be vulnerable to the virus due to lack of exposure.

Mr Cook said it was considered states such as NSW and Victoria had well passed the point where eliminating the virus would be achievable, and despite the single digit growth rate it was thought WA had too.

It's in the regions now, not just Perth

In Western Australia up until Tuesday, 364 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and a further 14,340 have tested negative for the virus, with 1,946 of those undertaken in regional areas.

There have been 34 positive cases detected in regional WA, with eight in the South West, three in the Goldfields, seven in the Great Southern, four in the Pilbara, two in the Midwest, four in the Wheatbelt and six in the Kimberley.

WA COVID-19 snapshot Confirmed cases so far: 665

Confirmed cases so far: 665 Recovered: 650

Recovered: 650 Deaths: 9

Deaths: 9 Total tests: 405,246 Latest information from the WA Health Department





More information on COVID-19 rates in individual Perth suburbs and other localised areas is expected to be released by the Health Department later this week.

There have been two deaths in the state attributed to COVID-19 and 54 people remain in WA hospitals, 12 of whom are in intensive care.

There have been 48 people who recovered from the disease in WA.

Of all the cases there are just eight for which the Health Department has so far been unable to identify the source of infection.

WA Chief Health Officer Andrew Robertson said that did not necessarily mean those cases had picked up COVID-19 in the community.

How do we know if we're not testing everyone?

About 84 per cent of cases in the state have been linked directly to cruise ship travel, overseas travel or interstate travel.

But testing in WA has been almost exclusively available only to people who recently travelled overseas or came into direct contact with someone confirmed to have been infected.

Last week exemptions were made to allow for people in high-risk settings, cruise ship passengers and people hospitalised with an unknown illness to also be tested.

This week testing will be opened far wider, to allow anyone in the general community with both a fever and a respiratory illness to be tested.

Dr Robertson said he suspected there may be some low-scale community transmission, but the expanded testing would paint a clearer picture.

Who should present to COVID-19 clinics? People who have EITHER a fever of 38 degrees Celsius OR acute respiratory infection

People who have Symptoms to look out for include fever, shortness of breath, cough or sore throat

Symptoms to look out for include or Patients who are tested should remain isolated at home until they receive their test results. Major clinics have been set up at Perth hospitals including Royal Perth, Sir Charles Gairdner, Fiona Stanley, Joondalup, Armadale, Rockingham and St John of God Midland. They are open from 8:00am–8:00pm daily. In Southern WA a clinic is operating at Bunbury Health Campus from 10:00am–4:00pm daily. In Northern WA a clinic is operating at Broome Hospital from 8:30am–4:00pm daily. Outside these areas, people with symptoms should present to their local hospital. For more information go to the Health Department website.

"I suspect there may be one or two cases that may be picked up," he said.

"But often we'll find that they are related to travel or direct contacts, so we will contact trace them like we do all cases and ensure that we find out where they've come from."

WA Chief Health Officer Andrew Robertson says once testing is opened up to a wider cohort the picture will become clearer. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

Dr Robertson conceded that even the expanded regime could see people in the community infected with COVID-19 go undetected because they were ineligible for a test.

He said people could be infected but not have a fever and so would not be considered for testing.

"Particularly the younger cohort can have quite mild symptoms without fever," he said.

"At the moment we are just looking at those with a fever and an influenza-like illness, but the majority will tend to have a fever and we will pick those up."

The Health Department has also undertaken some "covert testing", where a selection of samples taken from people to be tested for other illnesses like influenza are checked for signs of COVID-19.

It is not known how extensive the covert testing has been, but the results have not shown evidence of community transmission.

How long can we keep this up?

Premier Mark McGowan, who is tasked with balancing the public health and the health of the state economy, described the impact of some of the public health restrictions as "heartbreaking".

"The public health measures we have put in place are devastating businesses and many households, their livelihoods have been put at risk," he said.

"My heart goes out to those people who have been forced to close down, as well as West Australians who have found themselves without a job."

The state is not expected to maintain daily increases in the single digits for very long, but if it did that could present issues itself.

If WA maintained just nine new cases each day, in the long term, "the curve" would likely become too flat and the length of time the state would need to spend under tough restrictions would be untenable.

Dr Robertson did not rule out the possibility some of those restrictions would need to be relaxed in coming months if WA maintained very low rates of new cases.

"It's always a possibility, all of the social distancing and mass gathering things are based on how we can best address this disease, to flatten the curve and reduce the risk of spread," he said.

"If that risk of spread were to change marginally then there would be advice that we would provide back to the Government at the time."

Dr Robertson said whether restrictions might need to be increased or eased would not become clear until more testing had been conducted, as it depended entirely on how much previously undetected community transmission was taking place in WA.

"Then we will provide advice as to what measures we might be able to roll back to a degree, or, if things deteriorate, whether further measures are required," he said.

"But we also have to be very cognisant that we are part of Australia and that we have to work nationally to ensure that we can minimise the spread for all Australians right across the country."

Still prepping for battle

Extremely low rates may not be perfect in the long term for building immunity among the community, but for the time being it is a good problem for WA to have.

Keeping the rates low for now is essentially buying time for the State Government until it can ensure the health system is "battle ready" for coronavirus.

"When the storm hits, we'll be ready," Mr Cook said.

Yesterday he detailed more than $15 million worth of additional medical equipment the State Government has ordered, which included 301 ventilators, 201 humidifiers and 200 ICU beds.

Mr Cook also described the scale and speed of the WA health system's work to increase and free-up capacity in its hospitals as a "virtual Wuhan", in reference to China's building of two hospitals in a matter of days following the initial outbreak of Coronavirus in the Hubei Province.