From 11:59 pm Thursday 10 June, In Metropolitan Melbourne the five reasons to leave home will no longer apply, and the existing 10-kilometre limit will be increased to 25 kilometres.
However, the Victorian government is still asking people to stay local. That means the only reasons to go further than 25 km will be work, education, care and caregiving, and getting vaccinated.
And travel into regional Victoria to visit family and friends or take a holiday still remains a no go zone at least for now.
Acting Premier James Merlino said, “Metro Melbourne will not be able to have visitors to their homes, but outdoor gatherings will be increased to a maximum of ten people.”
“And mask rules will be eased slightly – required inside, and outdoors only when 1.5 metres isn’t possible.”
Schools will be able to resume face-to-face learning for all students from Friday.
Cafes, restaurants and pubs will open – with strict safety measures like density limits, seated service and QR codes in place.
The remaining retails will also open. Hairdressing, beauty and personal care can resume, but only for services where masks can be kept on.
Weddings will be limited to 10 people, and funerals no more than 50.
Religious gatherings – Fifty people will also be the limit.
Swimming pools, entertainment venues and community facilities will also open subject to density limits. And community sport can happen, but only for training.
This time the Victorian government is not publishing any list of the workplaces which can or can’t open however Acting Premier has simple advice.
“When it comes to work, there’ll no longer be a list – but if you can work from home, you should.”
He said, “Despite the eased restrictions, some businesses still won’t be able to open. It’s why we’ll extend our support for closed businesses with a further $2000 top-up payment.”
In regional Victoria, restrictions will also ease.
Visitors to the home are allowed but limited to two people and their dependents, only once per day.
Public outdoor gatherings will be limited to 20 people.
Restaurants, Entertainment venues, Community facilities and Religious gatherings – There’ll also be increases to the capacity limits.
Indoor sport, including gyms, will also be able to reopen with careful limits on the number of people permitted at any point in time.
Mr Merlino assured people that subject to public health advice, he’ll have more to say about what further stages of easing will look like next week. That includes the regional border coming down and Victorians being able to travel more freely around the state.
For Melbourne, he said that the government is looking at what more can be done to ease restrictions for businesses, without risking the gains we have made.
He added, Today is a good day, there’s no doubt about it. And we should absolutely be proud of what we’ve all achieved – but let me just say this:
“It isn’t over yet, and until we have widespread vaccination, this virus will still be with us.”
