Victoria’s statewide lockdown will end on schedule at 11.59pm tonight as the state records 10 new COVID-19 cases today, all of whom were in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period.
The five reasons to leave home, and the 5km radius will be lifted. Restaurants and cafes can also reopen for seated service. Retail and beauty and personal care will open in line with density limits, as will entertainment venues and community facilities. Schools will reopen tomorrow morning for onsite learning to all students.
Home visits will still be banned statewide, but outdoor gatherings of up 10 people are allowed, and there will be no restrictions on travel across the state. People will only be able to book accommodation with their household, intimate partner or single bubble person.
Masks remain mandatory outside the home, indoors and outdoors.
Live music venues, dance classes and physical recreation facilities, including gyms, will all open with density requirements of 1 person per 4sqm. A maximum of 50 people will be permitted at weddings. Funerals will also have a cap of 50 mourners, plus those conducting the funeral. Infants under 12 months are not included in the cap for either.
The Authorised Worker List will no longer apply, meaning businesses and venues can reopen with capacity and density limits of 1 person per 4sqm. Victoria will return to the rule that ‘if you can work from home, you should work from home’ but office workers will be able to return up to 25 per cent or up to 10 people, whichever is greater.
People will be free to visit ski fields again, but due to the higher risk in these settings entry to Victoria’s alpine resorts will require a COVID test and receipt of a negative result within 72 hours prior to visiting. Children under 12 are not required to be tested.
Community sport will also return for children and adults. No crowds will be allowed at major stadiums for the next two weeks, after the MCG and AAMI Park we responsible for high community transmission in this outbreak.
Three of today’s 10 cases were associated with AAMI Park, two of whom returned negative test results after attending the game. Deputy Secretary to the Department of Health Jeroen Weimar said this highlighted the need for lockdown and those who attended exposure sites to isolate immediately.
Premier Daniel Andrews said this was not some he would be boastful about, but something to be grateful for, especially to the thousands still in isolation.
“To every Victorian who checked in with our QR system, who got tested and quarantined, and stayed home to slow
the spread of this virus, thank you – it’s because of you we’ve able to get on top of this Delta outbreak and open up
our state,” he said.
These restrictions will remain in place for the next 14 days, and Mr Andrews said Victorians must remain vigilant and follow the rules to quash the highly infectious Delta variant.
