Masks now mandatory in Great Southern and Wheatbelt

The mask mandate has been expanded to the Great Southern and Wheatbelt regions as the Omicron variant continues to spread throughout Western Australia.

It comes as WA recorded 10 new local cases on Thursday with exposure sites now being detected outside of the Perth, Peel and South West regions.

Three of those cases are linked to the Willagee IGA sub-cluster and five are close contacts of a previously reported case in the Rockingham area.

The remaining two cases are connected to a sub-cluster in the South West.

“What we are seeing with cases in regional WA is concerning," Premier Mark McGowan said.

“We know how quickly Omicron spreads, and we know it doesn’t respect regional boundaries."

Several exposure sites were added to the list on Thursday including the Sporting Globe Bar and Grill in Mandurah for a second time and Terry White Chemist in Waikiki.