VICTORIA will finally exit its extended lockdown on Friday, with the state set to mark 70 per cent of residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced the end date for lockdown during a weekend press conference. He also announced that some of the restrictions expected to still be in place at the 70 per cent fully vaccinated milestone had been loosened.
From 11.59pm on 21 October, up to 10 people per day will be able to visit homes. The curfew and 15 kilometer travel limit will be removed, with the permitted reasons to leave home also set to be abolished.
Students are set to begin their planned return to school earlier, starting on Friday 22 October.
Up to 50 fully vaccinated people outdoors and up to 20 indoors can now attend weddings, funerals, and religious gatherings. Most outdoor places will open with a limit of 50 people per venue allowed. Indoor venues like restaurants will reopen with a patron limit of 20.
Large scale construction sites can operate at full capacity so long as workers are fully vaccinated. Office workers are still being instructed to work from home.
Movement between metropolitan Melbourne and regional areas is still restricted. Masks are still required indoors and outdoors.
Premier Daniel Andrews said “Victorians have sacrificed so much to protect their families, friends and the whole community from coronavirus – and have saved countless lives because of it.”
“The milestone we’re about to hit marks a new and hopeful path for the whole state – allowing businesses to reopen and Victorians to get back to things they love,” he said.
Further restrictions are expected to ease when 80 per cent of Victorians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, projected to be during the first week of November.
To view the full roadmap to reopening or book a vaccination visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au