Victoria is set to leave its stay-at-home orders from 11.59pm tonight, with many changes coming into effect from midnight. Despite the VIC lockdown lifting, visitors are still not allowed in homes for the next two weeks.
The good news comes as the state records 10 new cases in the last 24 hours, with all of the new cases in quarantine for their entire infectious period.
Premier Dan Andrews announced that as of midnight Tuesday, the five reasons to leave home will once again lift, as will the personal 5km radius and the two-hour exercise limit. Restaurants, cafés, bars and pubs will be allowed to re-open with caps of 100 people inside and 300 outside, and gyms will also reopen again with a similar density limit.
Retail can also reopen from midnight Tuesday, with mandatory QR code check-ins and a density limit of one person per 4sq metres, with up to 25 people permitted before density quotients kick in.
You’ll still have to wear a mask both outside and inside (other than your home) for at least the next two weeks, and Andrews said that recent research from the Burnett Institute proved that mask-wearing was a big factor of the state’s success of curbing last year’s big spike.
“I know it is painful, I know no-one enjoys doing it,” he said.
“But it is effective, and that is what we have to focus on, things that work against this virus and particularly against this Delta strain.”
For those keen to get out and socialise across VIC post-lockdown, outdoor gatherings will be opened up to a maximum of 10 people. Funerals and weddings will be capped at 50 people, excluding those conducting the event.
Offices will reopen with 25% capacity or up to 10 people for offices 40 people or less, but Andrews stressed that you must continue to work from home if you can.
Dance floors are still not yet permitted, but indoor venues are open to a maximum of 100 people and group limits of 10, and outdoor venues are open to up to 300 people.
Though there’s no crowds at the footy for at least another two weeks, community sport is back on with training and practice for adults and kids resuming from Wednesday.
Andrews also confirmed that several LGAs in New South Wales will no longer be in the NSW/VIC border bubble. Anyone in the Wagga Wagga, Hay, Lockhart and Murrumbidgee areas will not be able to travel into Victoria unless they’re an approved worker with a permit. Andrews also said that there will be further border changes, which will be announced in the future.
“I take no pleasure in having to essentially lock out those four communities from Victoria,” he said.
“But there’s a refusal to lock people in Sydney into Sydney, so I have no choice but to make these changes.”
Premier Andrews also stressed that although the lockdown is easing, Victorians still need to be vigilant about their movements and getting tested and vaccinated.
“Today is a good day, a good, positive day, but there’s a lot of work that still has to be done,” he said.
“Please wear your mask when you’re supposed to be wearing your mask. Please get tested whenever you’ve got even the mildest of symptoms. Please don’t go and visit mum and dad at their place. That’s how this virus spreads.
“So we all have to play our part and we all to be vigilant.”
