Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has just confirmed a raft of eased restrictions for Metropolitan Melbourne that will come into effect this week, after the state recorded its first Zero Day of coronavirus cases since early June.
Andrews fronted media a short time ago to confirm the new measures, which come after Government officials received the results from the northern suburbs cluster. Those numbers confirm the outbreak has been brought under control, will all results processed over the past 48 hours returning negative.
As a result, Andrews confirmed that Melbourne will fully move to the Third Step of the roadmap out of lockdown.
Melburnians will no longer be bound by the “four reasons” to leave home, but will still be subject to the 25km travel limit for the time being.
Retail, hospitality, and beauty services will be permitted to re-open from 11:59pm tomorrow night. That includes bars and pubs, which will be bound by capacity limits of 50 in outside spaces, with 20 people inside.
Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted from midnight tomorrow as well, with no limit on the amount of households that can gather.
An announcement on indoor gatherings is due tomorrow, but households will not be required to form a bubble with another house.
In addition to the changes that will come into effect from midnight tomorrow, Andrews flagged a raft of changes that will come into effect from midnight on November 8th. Those announcements chiefly involve the removal of the 25km limit, and the re-opening of the “ring of steel” hard border between Metropolitan Melbourne and the rest of Victoria. Gyms in Melbourne will also be able to re-open from that date.
“Fundamentally, this belongs to every single Victorian, every single Victorian who has followed the rules, stayed the course, worked with me and my team, to bring this second wave to an end. But it is not over. This virus is not going away. It is going to continue to be a feature of our lives, it is going to be a feature of our lives every day until a vaccine turns up. These are big steps. We have all given a lot, I’m so proud and impressed and humbled by the contribution that so many Victorian families have made, so many Victorian businesses have made,” Andrews stated.
More to come.
