Shoppers will not need to be vaccinated when non-essential retail reopens from 6pm on Friday, with the Victorian government allowing a month’s grace before locking out those who have not received both jabs.
The state government has clarified that shoppers at non-essential retail stores would not be required to be vaccinated until 90 per cent of Victorians aged over 12 were double vaccinated, which it estimates will happen by about November 24.
Retail employees will need to already have had their first vaccination by Friday and be double vaccinated by November 26.
The clarification caused confusion after Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday that those who were unvaccinated could still visit other people’s homes and shop for the basics, but would be barred from the vast majority of other venues.
“Whether it’s a bookshop, a shoe shop, a pub, cafe, a restaurant, the MCG, the list goes on and on. You will not be able to participate like a fully vaccinated person because you’re not a fully vaccinated person,” he said.
He did not stipulate at the time whether vaccinations would be required to enter non-essential stores from Friday.
On Wednesday Mr Andrews said there would be a transition period as there was previously not going to be a vaccination requirement for non-essential retail.
“We have changed that. The fair thing is to give people some time,” he said. “It does take a little bit of time and we just have to allow and give people a clear opportunity to get the first and the second dose.”
COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said on Wednesday the government wanted to give people enough time to get their vaccinations.
“We are sending out a very clear signal that says if you are going to be active in these kinds of retail environments post-90 per cent, you are going to need to get yourself vaccinated,” he said.
Australian Retailers Association chief industry affairs officer Fleur Brown said Victorian businesses had had to navigate some “confusing and mixed messaging from the state government in recent days”.
“What retailers want is clarity and certainty,” she said.
“As it stands, customers won’t have to show their vaccination status in order to shop in general retail stores from Friday, and there is no requirement on businesses to do any vaccine checks until November 24. That’s the most recent direction from the Victorian government and, as they have throughout the pandemic, retail businesses will follow the health protocols.”
Ms Brown said that despite the confusion, the rules were now clear and retailers were preparing to throw open their doors at the earliest opportunity to capitalise on Halloween and Melbourne Cup trade along with pre-Christmas sales.
Victoria recorded 1534 locally acquired coronavirus cases on Wednesday, and 13 deaths. Under Victoria’s road map, all retail is allowed to reopen from 6pm on Friday.
Pubs, restaurants and cafes and services like hairdressers and beauticians remain open only to fully vaccinated people. Weddings, funerals and places of worship can hold services with up to 500 fully vaccinated people or up to 30 people whose vaccination status is unknown.
Islamic Council of Victoria president Adel Salman said he was extremely frustrated that non-essential retail was opening to the unvaccinated while numbers remained capped at places of worship.
“You can imagine the response from mosque leaders – they are feeling extremely aggrieved” Mr Salman said.
“It’s clear double standards here. Retail is opening to the unvaccinated with no checking and people can mix in crowded areas and yet not in places of worship.
“We are seeking clarification from the government as to why they see fit to lift that separation for retail come Friday but don’t see fit to do that with places of worship.”
He said mosques had demonstrated very high levels of compliance with COVID protocols, with no reported outbreaks in Victoria and were a safer and more controlled environment than crowded retail outlets.
One Chapel Street trader, only identified as Stacey, told Nine News she feared unvaccinated shoppers could bring the virus into her store.
“We don’t want to get sick, we don’t want to close again,” she said.
In NSW, those who are not fully vaccinated cannot access non-essential retail, although the state will reopen its economy to the unvaccinated from December 1.
Victoria plans to exclude unvaccinated people from most venues and events until at least 2023.
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2021-10-27 08:42:05Z
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