Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed that the state will come out of its ‘short, sharp circuit-breaker’ lockdown at 11.59pm, with hospitality restrictions reverting to the COVID-Safe Summer plan of pre-February 12.
The Premier thanked Victorians for their hard-work and patience in helping the state to end the five-day lockdown, with close to 40,000 people being tested yesterday and zero new cases recorded.
“I want to thank those Victorians who’ve made it possible – and I want to thank every Victorian for their patience,” Premier Andrews said.
“Because of you, we’ve been able to track, trace and corner this mutant and more infectious strain of the virus. It also means we’re able to ease most of the restrictions, getting us back to our COVIDSafe Summer.
“From 11:59pm tonight, we will largely return to the previous rules – while keeping a watchful eye on some of the riskier settings.
“There’ll no longer be four reasons to leave home. The five-kilometre restriction will no longer apply.
“Restaurants and retail can reopen. Same too with community facilities, entertainment venues and all other public places – although some additional limits on crowd sizes will be in place.”
The measures in place for hospitality venues as of 11.59pm tonight, will be:
- Density quotient of one per two-sqm for indoor and outdoor hospitality venues.
- Up to 25 patrons are permitted in a venue before the density quotient applies.
- No requirement for seated service.
- Density quotient of one per four-sqm on a dancefloor up to a maximum of 50 people.
- All venues are required to use electronic record keeping when applying the density quotient of one per two-sqm.
- Indoor venues not using electronic record keeping, a density quotient of one per four-sqm applies.
- Gaming is open, with a density quotient of one per four-sqm, every second machine turned off, and no seated service requirement. Electronic record keeping required.
Masks will remain mandatory indoors, except at home and outdoors when social distancing of 1.5m cannot happen.
The Premier added: “Masks will continue to be a big part of our defence and will be required everywhere indoors except at home – at the supermarket, at the office, at the pub when you’re getting up to pay.
“Masks will also be required outside if you can’t physically distance from others.
“Those other defences – checking in when we’re heading out, washing our hands, keeping our distance – will remain just as critical.
“So too will the best protection there is: getting tested if you have any symptom, no matter how mild.”