Melbourne's curfew will be lifted, all primary school students will return to the classroom in early October and up to five people can gather outside from tomorrow, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced.
Follow today's events as they unfold.
Key events
Live updates
By Nicholas McElroy
A simple guide to major changes under Step Two
- FACE COVERINGS Must be a fitted face mask that covers nose and mouth - not a face shield. A week's grace period before the rule is enforced
- CURFEW Lifts from 5AM 28 September
- SHOPPING No limit on number of people from one household
- EDUCATION VCE and VCAL students return for assessments from 5 October. Prep to Grade 6, specialist school students, and VCE/VCAL students return onsite from the week of 12 October
- CHILDCARE Open to all children - permit not required. 5 km limit does not apply. One childminder allowed for in-home childcare
- PUBLIC GATHERINGS OUTSIDE A household or limit of five people from two households allowed. Penalty for illegal gatherings outdoors and in the home increases to nearly $5,000
- RECREATION & EXERCISE Exercise allowed within 5km of your workplace for permitted workers, as well as your home. Outdoor pools open, with conditions
- WEDDINGS Limit of five including the couple and two witnesses in outdoor spaces
- RELIGIOUS GATHERINGS Limit of five people plus one faith leader for outdoor gatherings and ceremonies
- CEMETERIES/RESTING PLACES Visits allowed on milestone dates subject to conditions
- TERMINALLY ILL GATHERINGS Limit of 10 people or a household subject to approval by the CHO and other conditions
- CARE FACILITIES/HOSPITALS One visitor per day for maximum of two hours. Patient under 18 years - two parents/carers can visit with no time limit
- INDUSTRY Extra 127,000 workers return to various industries with COVID Safe plans. Worker reduction will no longer apply to warehousing, postal and distribution centres, supermarket and food distribution. Wholesale business not previously allowed will open at 67% of normal daily worker level
- MEAT AND SEAFOOD PROCESSING Workforce capacity increased to 80% for meat and seafood processing. Increased to 90% for poultry. Regional Victorian workforce capacity increases to 90% for meat, seafood and poultry
- CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE Residential inspections allowed subject to conditions. Baseline for large-scale construction increases from 25% of total workforce to 85%. Specialist contractors on small-scale sites can visit up to five sites per week, with a maximum of two per day
- GARDENING/LANDSCAPING AND SOLE TRADERS Gardening, landscaping and garden maintenance businesses who have an ABN added to permitted worker list from September 28. Conditions require they can safely work alone, outside and have no contact with customers
- VEHICLES Scheduled and logbook servicing and safety inspections allowed of boats and vehicles
- OUTDOOR PERSONAL TRAINING Limit of two people plus personal trainer
- DENTAL & ALLIED HEALTH Non-urgent services allowed with COVID Safe plan
- AHPRA-registered professionals and other allied health professionals can resume some face-to-face appointments
- PET GROOMING Allowed at retail stores for animal welfare
By Nicholas McElroy
Are skateparks re opening or are they still closed?-Em
On skateparks the Andrews second step Twitter below says skateparks still closed. :(-Bearer of bad news
Skateparks remain closed, along with playcentres and trampolining centres.
By Jacqueline Howard
Daniel Andrews has posted a summary of the changes for Melbourne to his Twitter account
The Victorian Government website is yet to be updated with the usual FAQs, but this clarifies some information that many of you have been asking here.
By Jacqueline Howard
Can we go fishing? Golfing?
What about fishing and golf in Metro Melbourne?-Melissa
There are plenty of you in the comments who are keen to hear when your favourite hobbies will be back.
Fishing will be permitted within 5km of your home.
Golf courses remain closed.
By Jacqueline Howard
Andrews says 127,000 Victorians will be able to get back to work
Mr Andrews said 127,000 Victorians would be able to return to their jobs as restrictions on workplaces are eased under the second step of the roadmap.
Supermarkets and food distribution centres will return to full capacity, and the abattoirs, seafood and meat processing plants will also be able to increase their levels of activity.
Manufacturing will be able to increase to up 90 per cent of its workforce. Sole traders doing outside gardening and landscaping will be allowed to resume their work.
As previously announced, pet grooming will also be allowed to resume.
All businesses that have workers on-site will be required to have a COVIDSafe plan in place. An exemption for workplaces with fewer than five workers onsite will no longer apply.
These plans will include matters such as regular surveillance and testing of staff, nightly deep cleaning, separating workers into consistent bubbles, and providing regular training for workers.
By Dan Harrison
By Nicholas McElroy
Daniel Andrews on why the 5km radius is important
Mr Andrews was asked to explain the health advice on the 5km limit in Metropolitan Melbourne.
He said it was important to limit movement in communities to prevent the spread of the virus.
"Limiting movement limits the spread of this virus and keeping people into their local community is very important," he said.
"Won't be there longer than it needs.
"But it's not safe for us to take that off now.
By Jacqueline Howard
Apologies, once again, for that period of silence from us. The blog gremlins locked us out
By Jacqueline Howard
Daniel Andrews speaks about former Health Minister Jenny Mikakos's departure
I've not had a caucus meeting. I've spoken to many colleagues over the last 48 hours or so. I will continue to. That's an important part of my role.
No-one is happy to see someone who is an incredibly hard working member of the team go. When you make a decision you can't serve in the Cabinet, you can't serve in the Cabinet. You need to tender your resignation. That's what happened. I wish her well. I acknowledge her hard work and her passion and commitment.
We've been colleagues for a very long time. I have a great deal of respect for her. I acknowledge her commitment. In the business I'm in, I don't know many people who could say they worked harder than her. A very hard working person. I'm sorry for her and I am saddened by this, I wish her well. She's made a decision and it was the only decision she could make once she determined she could no longer sit in the Cabinet. I have nothing but good wishes for her in whatever the next chapter of her life involves.
By Nicholas McElroy
Increase in elective surgeries
Reporter
How quickly are Melbourne hospitals going to be able to get up to the 75% elective surgery?
Health Minister Martin Foley:
As per the road map, they will go through their processes of engaging with their specialists with, patients, and as quickly as safely and in a COVID-safe manner they will get to that point as soon as they are able.
Reporter:
Given this was flagged a couple weeks ago, do you expect that to happen within the next few days?
Foley:
It will certainly happen in the COVID-safe environment and vary from hospital to hospital and between the private and public sectors.They've all got different cohorts. It will be done in a safe, careful and sustainable manner to make sure that those facilities are safe for the workforce, the patients and that those patients get their surgery as soon as it is safe.
By Jacqueline Howard
Today's announcement is about Melbourne only
Has anything changed for regional Vic? I'm confused. Was today's announcements only for Melbourne?-Emma
Yes, today's changes are for Melbourne only. Regional Victoria, for the moment, is sitting tight for Melbourne's cases to decline so that the state can move further through the roadmap as one.
By Jacqueline Howard
Which industries are returning to work?
Who can return to work in the statement "127,000 workers to return to on-site work with a COVID-safe plan"?-Whose going back to work?
That's a question we haven't gotten an answer to yet. Premier Daniel Andrews has outlined in the roadmap the changes to meatworks industry, but when asked about others announced today, he said:
"I cannot announce today what the settings will be other than what we've said in the road map, the original road map"
By Jacqueline Howard
Daniel Andrews yet to speak to other premiers about border closures
"I have not [spoken to them] specifically in relation to what I'm announcing, but I'm pleased to see Premier Berejiklian made comments about a bigger bubble, the freedom of movement between much more of regional Victoria and southern New South Wales.
These are matters for other states. As I said many times and will say say it again - the best thing we as a state can do, every one of us, is get the numbers low, and then keep them low and that's when we get the borders open."
By Nicholas McElroy
Reopening and the AFL grand final weekend
Reporter:
With the timeline ... grand final weekend might be a bit of a reopening weekend?
Andrews:
The 19th [of October] is ahead of that weekend, yes.
By Jacqueline Howard
Bushfire preparations are not a reason to leave metro Melbourne
Any thoughts on if we can go to the regions to prepare our properties for bushfire season? It’s being cut fine-Bushfire
Premier Daniel Andrews was asked whether bushfire preparedness was a permitted reason to go outside Melbourne? This was the Premier's brief answer:
"Not at this stage but there is an enormous amount of work going on trying to finalise that. That is to say our normal fire season preparedness."
By Jacqueline Howard
Families split between metro Melbourne and regional Victoria still separated
Premier Daniel Andrews says that families are not allowed to travel to see one another if the households are split between restriction levels:
"No, I don't think that is safe at this point in time. That will change, that will change, but there is already a reason to go to regional Victoria, for instance, if you needed to, but we are trying to limit regional Victorian movement back and forth as much as we possibly can.
"If that can change, not necessarily in three weeks but point of time earlier than that, we will always look at it. The broader policy is to stop the number of people moving from metropolitan Melbourne, where the virus is at a much higher level, into regional Victoria where of course it is much lower, getting down to half a case per day. We are very close to that."
By Nicholas McElroy
Andrews denies curfew being scrapped because of legal action
Mr Andrews denied the curfew was being scrapped due to the legal challenge launched by a Mornington Peninsula cafe owner.
Michelle Loielo, who has flagged her intention to run for Liberal Party preselection at the next state election, has sought to have the curfew declared "unlawful and invalid".
The matter has been set down for a hearing before Supreme Court Justice Tim Ginnane tomorrow.
By Dan Harrison
By Jacqueline Howard
What restrictions do sole traders have?
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says his public health team has spent significant time looking into the needs of sole traders during the pandemic. He said the decision on whether sole traders could work in groups is no.
"I asked the public health team to specifically consider this notion and potentially a double type arrangement where two people can work together to the exclusion of others and that was deemed not safe because of it is not something the public health team could recommend to me.
"If we can change that, as soon as we can change that, we will. They are back but they have to work, like everybody. Everybody who has come back to work is working in a different environment. Everybody has restrictions and limits. Everybody has planning and a different framework to work in.
"We will do as much as we possibly can as quickly as we possibly can, and to that very specific question I had the public health team examine that and the answer was no. Therefore I have no alternative but to follow that advice because that is the way it goes. You can't change that."
By Nicholas McElroy
A day's notice for these industries?
Reporter:
I guess a day's notice isn't good for all of these industries.
Andrews:
What is the alternative? Make a decision last week and then update them which wasn't based on contemporary data?
The notion of taking these steps will give people as much notice as we can and in some circumstances it is easier because we are on school holidays, we can talk about the beginning of term four.
When it comes to these industries, my judgement - and I could be wrong - my judgement is I don't think too many of them will be complaining that this decision has been made, I think they will be very pleased. And they will work hard over the coming days to come up to the permitted level of activity.
By Nicholas McElroy
By Jacqueline Howard
Is the criteria for moving to the third step too ambitious?
Premier Daniel Andrews said the third and final steps of the roadmap would no longer be defined by dates.
Instead, Mr Andrews said the the “trigger point” for the public health team to review restrictions would be solely based on meeting case number targets.
Concerns have been raised over the criteria for Melbourne to be able to move to the third step of the restrictions roadmap being too tight. The 'trigger point' for the move is if there are less than an average of 5 daily cases state-wide.
Mr Andrews said there would be wriggle room in hitting that trigger point:
"I'm trying to emphasise it's not just that target. If it's 6 and there's a bunch of cases in hotel quarantine or aged care facility, maybe we can say that's OK. It's not just that target. There's wriggle room close to that. It is an assessment of the overall situation. Five is the target."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA5LTI3L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWF1c3RyYWxpYS1saXZlLW5ld3MtY292aWQxOS1tZWxib3VybmUtZGFuaWVsLWFuZHJld3MvMTI3MDcxMjDSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTI3MDcxMjA?oc=5
2020-09-27 04:08:00Z
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