WA’s hotel quarantine system has been beefed-up with new powers for security guards to enforce isolation requirements .

It follows an incident at a quarantine hotel over the weekend , where a woman who should have been isolating walked out of her hotel and wasn’t arrested for 12 hours.

The state government made the changes under the Emergency Management Act to prevent people from from breaching a quarantine direction.

Security guards will receive further training and hotels will be required to further strengthen entry and exit points.

Health Minister Roger Cook says a set of rules are also being developed so police and health workers can move high-risk people into hotels with tougher security.

“This global pandemic is rife around the world so it’s absolutely crucial we do everything we can to tighten and further strengthen our systems to protect the WA community,” he said.

The new measures will be effective immediately.

Shadow Police Commissioner Peter Katsambanis believes it’s a second grade option.

“Confrontation and using force is a job for police.”

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