Tom Gleeson blocked from entering WA
With Western Australia shutting its borders to NSW travellers, Gold Logie award-winning comedian Tom Gleeson has revealed he has been turned away from the border after flying to Perth.
“Just arrived in Perth to be told NSW residents aren’t allowed in,” Gleeson shared on Twitter.
“I’ve visited no exposure sites, no hotspots and here’s the fun part … I’M FULLY VACCINATED! LOL! (Sorry for cancelled gigs Perth. I did my best.)”
Though some fans sympathised with the comedian, others were quick to point out that his vaccinated status meant little in preventing the spread of coronavirus.
“Unfortunately it doesn’t matter if you’re fully vaccinated, you can still carry the virus. It protects you from having severe symptoms,” one commented.
Another replied: “WA has zero active Covid cases. We’d like to keep it that way thanks. Vaccination is irrelevant - you can still be infected.”
Can vaccinated people pass on COVID to others if they get infected?
Though scientists have been hesitant to confirm that COVID-19 vaccinations reduce transmission of the virus to others, an increasing amount of evidence suggests that the vaccines substantially reduce the chance of the virus spreading to others.
A large study of COVID-19 transmission involving more than 365,000 households with vaccinated and unvaccinated members found that the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines reduced the chance of spreading the disease to others by 40-60 percent, according to Public Health England.
This means that vaccinated people who then become infected with COVID-19 are around half as likely to pass the infection on to others than unvaccinated people with the disease.
Another study from Israel found that the amount of the virus in a person’s nose was significantly lower if they were vaccinated than if they were not.
Higher amounts of the virus in someone’s nose has been linked to being more infectious and more likely to transmit the disease.
Closed borders
Western Australia restricted entry of NSW travellers into the state from Wednesday following an increase in cases in NSW.
Premier Mark McGowan acknowledged it was an inconvenience for many travellers but insisted he was keeping Western Australians safe.
“I’d just urge the NSW government to get this under control because this is a threat and a risk to the rest of the country,” he told reporters.
“If that means a lockdown, well then that’s what should happen.”
Image: Tom Gleeson / Instagram