Yesterday, premier Dan Andrews announced a “cautious pause” on announcements regarding the easing of restrictions in order to wait for test results from an outbreak in Melbourne’s north. Today, he has made those announcements.
Metropolitan Melbourne will be moving into step three of its reopening roadmap. So, from 11.59pm on Tuesday October 27:
- The four reasons to leave home will be removed;
- Retail stores will be able to reopen;
- Hospitality will reopen with 50 people outdoors and 20 indoors;
- Beauty and personal services can reopen, as long as a face mask can be worn;
- Libraries and community venues will be able to open for outdoor events;
- Outdoor entertainment venues can reopen for a maximum of 20 guests;
- Outdoor gatherings will remain at a maximum of ten people, but they can be from more than two households; and
- Workplaces will no longer need to be on the “permitted work” list to open, and the ability to work will change to “if you can work from home you must work from home”;
The 25km limit will remain in place, as will the metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victorian border, until 11.59pm on Sunday, November 8.
From 11.59pm on Sunday November 8:
- The 25km limit will be removed;
- The border between metro Melbourne and regional Victoria will be removed;
- Gyms and indoor fitness centres will be able to reopen with strict safety precautions in place;
- Hotel accommodation can also reopen; and
- Restaurants, cafés and bars can increase their density limits to 40 patrons indoors and 70 patrons outdoors.
News on household visiting will be revealed tomorrow, Tuesday, October 27. These household rules will go into place tomorrow night as well, but the government needs time to confirm a few details about these household gatherings.
The news comes as Victoria has recorded zero new cases in the last 24 hours. This is the first time the state has recorded no cases since June.
“We took the time to wait, to make sure we didn’t have widespread community transmission in the northern suburbs,” said Andrews. “It was worth waiting to be sure.”
Read about the exact rules on the Victorian Government’s website here.