Victoria will reach its 80 per cent double dose vaccination milestone almost a week ahead of schedule, on Friday 29 October. And the state will reach a 90 per cent double dose milestone – predicted to be as early as 24 November – a significant easing of all major restrictions will occur.
Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews announced that on Friday 29 October at 6:00 pm, Victoria will move forward in opening up and more restrictions will fall away.
Regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne will unite and move forward on the same restrictions, enabling people from Melbourne to travel to regional Victoria and interstate again.
Festivals after 29th October
Dhanteras on Tuesday 2nd November
Choti Diwali- Kali Chaudas on Wednesday 3rd November
Diwali- Laxmi Pooja on Thursday 4th November
Govardhan Pooja on Friday 5th November
Bhaiya Dooj on Saturday 6th November
Up to 10 people (including dependents) per day will be able to visit homes in metropolitan Melbourne.
To ensure this is done safely, it’s highly recommended that Victorians only permit people aged 12 years and over who are fully vaccinated to visit them at home.
Up to 30 people including dependants can gather in public outside.
Most indoor settings, including restaurants, pubs, gyms, and hairdressers will open with no caps subject to a DQ4 (1 per 4sqm) limit if all staff and patrons are fully vaccinated. Most outdoor settings will remain at DQ2 (1 per 2sqm) limit up to 500, where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
These indoor and outdoor settings will also apply to weddings, funerals, and religious gatherings if all attendees are fully vaccinated. Caps of 30 people will apply for weddings, funerals, and religious gatherings if vaccination status is unknown.
Premier Daniel Andrews said, “We made a deal with the Victorian community – we asked them to get vaccinated and promised that when they did, we would open up and begin to live alongside the virus. Today we are delivering on that promise.”
“Victorians have met this challenge beyond any of our expectations and these vaccination rates are an incredible achievement. We’re on our way to being one of the most vaccinated – and therefore one of the safest – places in the entire world,”
added Premier.
Entertainment venues will reopen. For indoor seated venues including cinemas and theatres, there will be a 75 per cent capacity or DQ4 up to 1,000 people and for non-seated indoor entertainment venues, there will be a DQ4 limit with no patron cap.
Outdoor seated and non-seated entertainment venues including stadiums, zoos, and tourist attractions will be open with a DQ2 limit of up to 5,000 where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
Events – such as music festivals – will be able to host up to 5,000 attendees, subject to any restrictions related to the venue.
The Chief Health Officer may also grant approval for larger crowds for significant events and venues under the Public Events Framework.
Masks will remain mandatory indoors but are no longer required outdoors. It is highly recommended you continue to wear a mask outdoors where you cannot physically distance, such as busy streets or outdoor markets.
The next milestone in the Roadmap will be when Victoria hits the 90 per cent double dose vaccination target for Victorians 12 years and over – predicted to be as early as Wednesday 24 November.
At this point, caps or density quotients will be removed for all settings, and masks will only be mandatory indoors in some high-risk settings such as hospitals, aged care, public transport, and justice and correctional facilities.
There will be no restrictions for indoor and outdoor events provided they follow COVID Safe rules including vaccination requirements.
Events with significant numbers of children may not be able to operate at full capacity while vaccines remain unavailable for children. There will be some caps for religious ceremonies, weddings, and funerals where vaccination status is unknown.
If you haven’t booked your appointment, please book it today. Over the next week, there are 123,000 first and second-dose appointments available. Victorians can also book a vaccine appointment through their GP or pharmacist.
For more info on the Roadmap or to book a vaccination visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covidsafe-settings.