Police, permits and swabs: the pains of crossing WA's hard border

Western Australia wants zero community transmission before it opens up to other states. I'm increasingly aware this will never happen

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When I got the call in July 2018 that my dad had a golden staph infection that had eaten away at his heart and that I needed to fly from Melbourne to Perth immediately to say my goodbyes, every minute that passed was unbearable.

Waiting for the uber to take me home from the cinema where I had been about to see a movie; the drive to the airport; the four-and-a-half hour flight, the journey to the hospital from the airport at 11pm at night. What if dad dies before I get there?" I kept thinking.