Melbourne will enjoy significant easing of COVID-19 restrictions this Friday as Victoria tracks toward reaching its 80 per cent double dose vaccination milestone almost a week ahead of schedule.
Chief health officer Brett Sutton has determined that from 6pm Friday, the state will move forward in opening up and a range of restrictions will be lifted.
The changes come as Maribyrnong recorded 414 active COVID-19 cases on Monday for a total of 1541, while Hobsons Bay had 375 active cases and 1841 in total.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Sunday that retail will be permitted to reopen from Friday evening and regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne will be reunited, enabling people from Melbourne to travel to regional Victoria and interstate again.
“We made a deal with the Victorian community – we asked them to get vaccinated and promised that when they did, we would open up and begin to live alongside the virus,” he said.
“Victorians have met this challenge beyond any of our expectations and these vaccination rates are an incredible achievement. We’re on our way to being one of the most vaccinated – and therefore one of the safest – places in the entire world.”
From 6pm Friday most indoor settings such as restaurants, pubs, gyms and hairdressers will open with no caps subject to density limits of one person per 4 square metres, if all staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
Up to 500 people will be permitted in outdoor settings where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
Indoor seated venues including cinemas and theatres will be permitted to open at 75 per cent capacity.
Outdoor entertainment venues including stadiums, zoos and tourism attractions will be open for up to 5000 people.
Masks will remain mandatory indoors, but will no longer be required outdoors.
The next milestone in the Roadmap will be when Victoria hits the 90 per cent double dose vaccination target for Victorians 12 years and over, predicted to be as early as November 24.
