Elective surgery in Western Australian will be suspended for all but the most serious cases as the state confirms the number of those diagnosed with COVID-19 has jumped by 26 overnight.

Key points: Only elective surgery deemed medically necessary will go ahead

Only elective surgery deemed medically necessary will go ahead The move is designed to free up resources to tackle coronavirus

The move is designed to free up resources to tackle coronavirus WA overnight recorded its biggest 24-hour jump in COVID-19 cases

It brings the total number of people infected to 90 in the state.

Of the 26 cases confirmed overnight, 12 are men and 14 are women and they are aged from 17 through to 72.

Health Minister Roger Cook said as of Tuesday all category three elective surgery would be cancelled.

In addition to that, no new category two elective surgeries would be booked from Monday.

WA COVID-19 snapshot Confirmed cases so far: 662

Confirmed cases so far: 662 Recovered: 650

Recovered: 650 Deaths: 9

Deaths: 9 Total tests: 395,402 Latest information from the WA Health Department





Category two elective surgery is defined as that which is deemed medically necessary within two to three months.

Category three is defined as surgery that is necessary within 12 months.

Category one is that which needs to be undertaken within a month.

"We will only be undertaking category one surgery and any category two surgery which is already booked and considered urgent by their treating clinician," Mr Cook said.

"This is because we know that elective surgery is an important drain on our resources and in particular on consumable such as PPE (personal protective equipment).

"This is an important measure that we need to put in place because now is the time in Western Australia that we have all guns blazing on the COVID-19 virus."

Mr Cook said it was not surprising today saw the highest jump in numbers of confirmed cases to date.

"There will come a point where we will see clusters, there will come a point where we will see the situation emerge and we have to … make sure that we are nimble enough to respond to that," Mr Cook said.

Children banned from hospital visits

The State Government has also announced strict new rules for visitors to public hospitals.

Children under 16 will not be allowed to visit at all, and visiting hours will be limited to two hours per day, in a bid to better protect patients and staff from transmission.

Adult patients will also be restricted to two visitors per day — one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

No visitors will be allowed to see confirmed COVID-19 adult inpatients or people being investigated for COVID-19.

Stay up-to-date on the coronavirus outbreak Download the ABC News app and subscribe to our range of news alerts for the latest on how the pandemic is impacting the world

Cruise ship passengers disembark in Fremantle

Two cruise ships docked in Fremantle this morning carrying hundreds of international guests who will be disembarking over the next 48 hours, according to operator Carnival Cruises.

One of the ships — the Pacific Princess — was among four exempted from a national 30-day ban on cruise ships docking in Australia, put in place by the Federal Government earlier this week, as their voyage to an Australian port was already underway.

Holland America Line's Amsterdam docked in Fremantle port this morning. ( ABC News: Julian Robins )

The WA Government announced yesterday non-Australian cruise passengers who had arrived from overseas ports would not be allowed to disembark in the state, unless they were heading straight for the airport to fly home.

Police would be patrolling the port to ensure the process went smoothly.

Passengers from the Pacific Princess began disembarking this morning in Fremantle and went directly to shuttle buses at the port.

Doug Stendahl, a passenger on board the Pacific Princess, said he was pleased to be returning to Canada.

Doug Stendahl, from Canada, said he was pleased to be getting off the ship and flying home.

"We've read the information. We need to know things are safe," Mr Stendahl said.

"We understand some changes have been made [regarding international travel rules], but we will adapt accordingly."

Police were waiting outside the Fremantle port in West Australia after two cruise ships docked. ( ABC News: Julian Robins )

Passengers on second cruise ship allowed ashore in Fremantle

There were questions over whether the strict new rules would apply to the 1,100 guests aboard the second ship, the Amsterdam, as they had come from an Australian rather than foreign port, and spent some time in Australian waters.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 42 seconds 42 s Mark McGowan announces WA cruise ship lockdown

But the State Government released a statement late on Saturday afternoon confirming all passengers on board the Amsterdam cruise ship "are able to disembark should they wish" because the ship "has been in Australian waters".

"All those on board were in Australia before the 14-day self-isolation for travellers direction was enacted and before the international ban to Australia commenced," the statement said.

It is not clear how many passengers, if any, have disembarked from the Amsterdam, but the State Government said "many have chosen to remain on the ship until they can connect to a flight home".

A statement from Carnival Cruises said the disembarkation of the two ships in Fremantle was being coordinated with WA authorities.

"Both ships have a considerable number of international guests and the two cruise lines have taken action to assist these guests to go to flights for their homeward journeys," the statement said.

"Local authorities are assisting disembarking guests with the completion of health questionnaires.

"We have no reason to believe there will be any health issues that would affect disembarkation from the two ships."

Mr Cook said police were at the dock to ensure all of those on board the cruise ship adhered to guidelines.

"All the Australians disembarking from the Amsterdam and the Pacific Princess will be required to self-isolate for 14 days consistent with the measures put in place by the Prime Minister and the police are on hand to make sure that people understand their directions and to make sure that they all follow those directions," he said.

"Now in terms of the foreign nationals which are on that boat, they're expected to stay on the boat until they can transition immediately to Perth Airport and then disembark from there, back to their countries of origin.

"One of the Assistant Commissioners is down there on the docks as we speak, putting arrangements in place … they'll manage this situation.

"My understanding is there's great sense of cooperation and understanding on the docks and that's really pleasing."

Sydney cruise ship releases infected passengers

There has been confusion in the application of these new rules, with four of the thousands of passengers who disembarked from the Ruby Princess in Sydney yesterday later found to be infected with COVID-19.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the states were responsible for dealing with the cruise ships and indicated NSW had not followed the correct procedure.

"Those returning to Australian ports are returning under strict conditions," he said.

"NSW is now applying those conditions and I thank them for accepting the advice of the Border Force Commissioner, who rang to ensure they are fully aware of their responsibilities."

All of those on board are required to self-isolate for 14 days and Mr Hunt said state health authorities had a process to deal with anyone suspected of carrying the virus.