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Western Australia will reopen its borders from March 3 amid a growing Omicron outbreak, bringing to an end almost 700 days of seclusion.

Insisting the new date was "locked in", Premier Mark McGowan on Friday expressed confidence WA was ready to welcome back travellers given its high vaccination rates.

He acknowledged there was no prospect of stopping an outbreak which now numbers 794 active cases.

"Eventually there comes a point where the border is ineffective when you get to high case numbers within the state," he told reporters.

"It is plain to see that four weeks of caution has paid dividends. It means it is now far safer to relax our hard border settings."

Once the borders reopen, interstate travellers who are fully-vaccinated - including a third dose if eligible - will be able to travel to WA without quarantining.

Unvaccinated interstate travellers will remain locked out.

All international travellers will be allowed back in, but those who are unvaccinated must spend seven days in hotel quarantine.

The number of unvaccinated overseas arrivals will be limited to 70 per week.

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said modelling suggested WA's caseload would peak at the end of March at around 10,000 daily infections.

WA is expected to reach "peak immunity" that month but four lives are expected to be lost each day once the peak is reached.

WA Health on Friday recorded 194 local cases, taking the tally over the past three days to 486 new infections.

WA had 79 active cases and a third-dose vaccination rate of 26 per cent on January 20 when the premier announced the planned February 5 reopening would be indefinitely delayed.

More than 55 per cent of eligible West Australians have now received their booster, while the vaccination rate for children aged 5 to 11 has tripled to 45 per cent.

Mr McGowan insisted his decision had been vindicated because cases and hospitalisations elsewhere in Australia had since fallen significantly.

"If I had my time again, I'd do exactly the same thing," he said.

The premier added there was no prospect he would again backflip on the reopening.

"This date is locked in and I can't foresee a situation where it would change. It's only 12 days away so it's a lot closer than last time," he said.

The state will introduce tougher public health measures from Monday including extending the wearing of masks at indoor venues across the state.

"Level one" measures will come into effect in Perth, Peel, the South West, Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Pilbara regions, including a one person per two square metres rule at hospitality and entertainment venues, gyms, beauty services and places of worship.

Home gatherings will be capped at 30 people and private outdoor events in non-home settings to 200 people.

Visitor limits will come into effect at hospitals and aged care venues, but people won't be required to work from home.

People will no longer have to show proof of vaccination to purchase from bottleshops, with the requirement for other venues to also be reviewed.

Restrictions will be tightened further once case numbers grow significantly, including requiring children in year three and above to wear face masks.

Mr McGowan said he was hopeful the reopening would attract airlines back to Perth, including direct international flights.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott welcomed the "sensible" decision which she said would assist Australia's pandemic recovery.

The move was also praised by WA's Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Hotels Association, which urged the government to limit the duration of venue density limits.

Australian Medical Association WA president Mark Duncan-Smith said the new restrictions were appropriate and measured to help flatten the curve.

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Industry groups are leading calls for uniform COVID-19 rules across the country, as three jurisdictions eased their restrictions on Friday.

NSW, Victoria and the ACT all moved to scrap density limits and reinstitute singing and dancing in hospitality venues, while also reducing quarantine for unvaccinated international arrivals.

The changes come after Omicron case numbers plateaued across the country.

While restrictions have eased, the Australian Industry Group is urging national cabinet to create consistency on COVID-19 rules.

Its chief executive Innes Willox said the myriad of rules between the states and territories were creating barriers.

"We may be one, but we are still many in terms of our state and territory approaches to COVID," he said.

"Bringing the country into line with COVID rules should be the top priority for the next national cabinet meeting."

The ACT is easing its restrictions earlier than intended, following NSW's decision to scrap some of its COVID rules.

Mr Willox said moves in which NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT were working together on COVID measures should be replicated across the country.

"For our businesses operating across state lines, the hodgepodge of COVID rules that remain across the country create an unwelcome administrative burden," he said.

"(The different rules are) a distraction from their main priorities of growing their operations as they contribute to our post-COVID recovery."

Health experts have warned that while removing COVID restrictions for the time being was a sensible step forward, they could be reintroduced ahead of winter.

University of Melbourne epidemiologist Tony Blakely said new variants of the virus could emerge in coming months, but welcomed the eased restrictions.

"We are getting back to normality. It's like a tabletop mountain - we've gone up the curve, we're coming down, and as we come down, that's the time you release these restrictions," he told the Seven Network.

"There will be some little bumps on the way into winter with extra infection happening amongst those people who weren't infected in the first wave, and also some of us whose vaccine immunity wanes."

It comes as the Royal Australasian College of Physicians calls for the health and wellbeing of children to be one of the leading priorities for the COVID-19 recovery.

The college has sought a national task force to address the issues children and young people have experienced during the pandemic, as well as the appointment of a national chief paediatrician.

A 2021 study found 60 per cent of caregivers reported their child's overall health and wellbeing had been impacted by pandemic restrictions.

The college's president-elect and paediatrician Jacqueline Small said some of the impacts of the pandemic on young people were yet to be realised.

"Because of the pandemic's more serious impact for adults, we've seen the health and wellbeing of children take a back seat, it's time to put children first," Dr Small said.

"There is an urgent need for a national recovery plan to help the nation's children catch up from the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic."

There were 36 COVID-19 deaths reported nationally on Friday, with 15 from NSW, 14 in Victoria, six in Queensland and one in the Northern Territory.

NSW recorded 9243 virus cases, Victoria had 6935, Queensland 5795, the NT another 1027, while there were 623 and 561 in Tasmania and the ACT respectively.

South Australia recorded 1479 local cases and Western Australia 194, as that state announced it would scrap its hard border on March 3.

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Australia's two most-populous states will ease many of their COVID-19 restrictions from Friday, as case numbers from the Omicron variant continue to flatline.

From Friday, NSW residents will be able sing and dance at venues, while density limits have been scrapped.

Those in NSW won't have to use QR codes to check in to a venue, except for nightclubs or music festivals with more than 1000 people.

Similar easing of restrictions will take in place in Victoria on Friday, while QR codes will still be required at pubs, bars and entertainment venues,

International traveller permits have also been scrapped in Victoria, while quarantine for unvaccinated travellers has been halved to seven days.

Mandates requiring key industries to carry out surveillance testing will be replaced with a recommendation.

The moves come after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the Omicron peak had passed, with the state able to move "back to normal".

Epidemiologist Tony Blakely from the University of Melbourne said the easing of restrictions was a significant step forward.

"We are getting back to normality. It's like a tabletop mountain, we've gone up the curve, we're coming down, and as we come down, that's the time you release these restrictions," he told the Seven Network.

"There will be some little bumps on the way into winter with extra infection happening amongst those people who weren't infected in the first wave, and also some of us whose vaccine immunity wanes."

Professor Blakely said the current virus situation was also a good time for mask rules to be relaxed in the right circumstances.

"Taking (masks) off will be welcome in both NSW and Victoria, but there are settings where it's high risk, particularly public transport ," he said.

"We may well just have to get used to wearing masks on public transport for at least another year."

It comes as the Royal Australasian College of Physicians calls for the health and wellbeing of children to be one the leading priorities for the COVID-19 recovery.

The college has urged for a national task force to address the issues children and young people have experienced during the pandemic, as well as the appointment of a national chief paediatrician.

A 2021 study found 60 per cent of caregivers reported their child's overall health and wellbeing had been impacted by pandemic restrictions,.

The college's president-elect and paediatrician Jacqueline Small said some of the impacts of the pandemic on young people were yet to be realised.

"Because of the pandemic's more serious impact for adults, we've seen the health and wellbeing of children take a back seat, it's time to put children first," Dr Small said.

"There is an urgent need for a national recovery plan to help the nation's children catch up from the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic."

Nationally, 65 deaths were reported on Thursday including 39 in Queensland, 14 in NSW, nine in Victoria, two in South Australia and one in the ACT.

Queensland's figures included 27 historic cases with some dating back as far as mid-January.

In total, 28,052 COVID-19 cases were reported across the country, with 9995 in NSW, 8501 in Victoria, 5665 in Queensland, 1440 in SA, 537 in ACT, 680 in Tasmania, 1045 in the Northern Territory and 189 in Western Australia.

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The victim of a deadly shark attack in Sydney's east has been identified as a local man and "keen diver".

The man has been identified by multiple outlets as 35-year-old Wolli Creek man and "keen diver" Simon Nellist.

He died from catastrophic injuries after being attacked by what witnesses say was a four-and-a-half metre great white shark at Little Bay.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet labelled it a "horrific tragedy" on Thursday, saying the government extended its sympathies to the family of the man.

"It's a reminder to us all of the fragility of life," the premier said.

"Can I also say to people right across our state we've closed a number of beaches on the advice of the Department of Primary Industries and police, so please follow those instructions."

The fatal shark attack is the first in Sydney in nearly 60 years.

Police confirmed to AAP they used DNA technology to identify the victim.

Randwick Council has shut a number of beaches including Little Bay, Malabar, Maroubra, Coogee, Clovelly and La Perouse for 24 hours.

"Our entire community is thinking of the family and friends of the victim today," said Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker in a council statement.

"This is a shocking tragedy that our area will feel for a long time."

The council said another assessment will take place on Thursday afternoon to determine if it will reopen on Friday.

But that did not deter members of the public from having a dip at nearby Clovelly beach in defiance of council's instructions.

Lifeguards surveyed beaches on jet skis and used drones to check for shark sightings along the coast.

Department of Primary Industries have installed six SMART drumlines between Little Bay and Malabar as part of a shark incident response plan, council said.

SMART drumlines are new technology that allow target sharks to be intercepted beyond the surf break.

Sydney University academic Chris Pepin-Neff, who focuses on policy responses to shark attacks, said "this was not a typical event".

He supported the authorities' decision to close nearby beaches.

"While killing individual sharks does not reduce the risk from shark bites, public education to stay out of the water when sharks are close to shore makes a difference," he said.

A local ocean swim planned for Sunday was cancelled "out of respect for the swimmer and his family".

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