Premier Daniel Andrews has announced major changes to Victoria’s reopening roadmap as the state races closer to the 80 per cent vaccine milestone.
Victoria is expected to reach it’s 80 per cent milestone almost a week ahead of schedule on Friday 29 October.
From 6pm on Friday, regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne move ahead with the same restrictions.
Restrictions easing at 80 per cent
Andrews on Sunday announced the latest round of roadmap rules will take effect from 6pm on Friday, with the state forecast to reach 80 per cent full vaccination of people 16 and over sometime next weekend.
Under the changes, statewide travel will return, reconnecting Melbourne with the regions for the first time since the city’s 77-day lockdown lifted.
“That means it is a proper Melbourne Cup long weekend, informally, for people to travel, to book holidays and do all sorts of things,” Andrews told reporters.
In addition, masks no longer need to be worn outdoors, and indoor entertainment venues, gyms and retail can reopen for fully vaccinated patrons while capacity limits increase for restaurants, pubs and cafes.
Students from every year level across the state can also return to full-time, face-to-face learning on November 1.
The premier acknowledged school settings would remain “a little bit different” to normal, given those under 12 cannot be vaccinated against COVID-19.
That means, the restrictions easing at 80 per cent vaccination include:
- 10 people including dependents can visit your home per day
- Up to 30 people including dependents can gather outside
- Indoor community sport will open for minimum number required
- Masks scrapped for outdoors
- Hospitality venues can open for seated service to fully vaccinated people indoors and non seated service to up to 500 fully vaccinated people outdoors
- Offices may return to fully vaccinated workers, but work from home is still encouraged
- Beauty salons and hairdressers open to fully vaccinated people
- All retail may open
- Early childhood education and care will open
- All students return to school
- Onsite adult education resumes to fully vaccinated people.
- Weddings, funerals and religious services return for fully vaccinated people indoors and 500 outdoors
Restrictions easing at 90 per cent
In the longer term, Andrews laid out what the state would look like once 90 per cent of people 12 and over are full vaccinated, forecast on or around November 24.
All venue caps will be scrapped at that point, along with density quotients.
“Masks will only be required in high-risk indoor settings, such as public transport, prisons, hospitals, aged care, to give you some examples,” Andrews said.
Limits on home and outdoor gatherings will also be shelved, paving the way for Christmas to return to normal.
Non-essential retail patrons and staff will also be required to be fully vaccinated when the state reaches the 90 per cent milestone.
That means, the restrictions easing at 90 per cent vaccination include:
- No limit to number of people who can gather indoors or outdoors
- Masks not required except in his risk settings where socially distancing is difficult
- On-site work may return for anyone who is fully vaccinated
- Hospitality venues can operate at maximum capacity subject to vaccination requirements and COVID safe measures
- Events may return with no attendee caps for fully vaccinated
- State significant venues hosting major events will need to have one-off approval of their COVIDsafe venue plan
Vaccinated economy
But Andrews warned Victoria’s “vaccinated economy” would remain into 2022, with those who refuse to get the jab excluded from workplaces, venues and major events.
“If you’ve made the choice, I’ll respectfully say the wrong choice to not get vaccinated then you’re at much greater risk of putting really significant pressure on our nurses, on our doctors, on our ambos ... their job gets harder because you refuse to do yours,” he said.
“We will retain the vaccinated economy, all those requirements, all those settings, where you only get in if you are double vaccinated.”
Andrews said he wanted to see a 80,000-plus crowd for day one of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG but all would have to be double-dose vaccinated.
“No rules and no restrictions are as important and as effective as two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine,” Andrews told the media on Sunday.
“That is why as we get more people through the program, as we get more people fully protected, we have many more options.”
“That means we have to open the place up and we have to have a series of rules and settings, that are the lightest touch possible, the simplest, the most easily understood, and that are as close to normal life as possible.”
“That is what we committed to and that is what we are going to deliver.”
Vic COVID update
It comes as Victoria reported 1935 new COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths, taking the toll from the current outbreak to 223.
On the first weekend since Melbourne’s 77-day lockdown ended, the state is managing almost 25,000 active cases.
There are 787 people in hospital, slightly lifting the seven-day average to 793. Of them, 146 are in intensive care and 93 of those on a ventilator.
There were 69,624 tests processed and 39,250 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered at state-run hubs on Saturday.
Some 73.7 per cent of Victorians 16 and over are now fully vaccinated.
- with AAP
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2021-10-24 01:30:00Z
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