Premier Mark McGowan is standing by his decision to lockdown the Perth and Peel regions for three days.

Speaking with Gareth Parker on 6PR Breakfast he said the New South Wales approach is off the table.

“They had rolling lockdowns and rolling shutdowns that went on for weeks,” he said.

“The estimate out of New South Wales is their model cost their economy $2.3 billion, now that’s about 50 times the estimate of the cost of what we did.”

He said while he sympathises with the devastating affects the lockdown had on small businesses, the health threat is far greater.

“It’s not something I enjoy doing, it’s not something I want to do, what I want to do is prevent the virus getting here,” Mr McGowan said.

“I think people understand that if we have to do difficult things we do.

“If the alternative is the virus spreads everywhere, like it has in multiple countries all over the world, well I think people would prefer a short-sharp lockdown.”

He said mass vaccination is the key to preventing future lockdowns.

Perth and Peel will ease further out of COVID-19 restrictions from tomorrow, but residents will still need to wear masks indoors and on public transport.

Large venues will be allowed to operate at 75 per cent capacity from tomorrow, but private gatherings are capped at 30 people.

Press PLAY to hear the full interview.