VICTORIA’S snap five-day “circuit-breaker” lockdown will end at midnight tonight as planned, but masks rules and gathering limits remain in place.
Premier, Daniel Andrews said masks would still be required indoors and outdoors where you cannot socially distance at 1.5 metres.
Only five visitors will allowed at private homes, instead of the previous 15-person limit, and up to 20 people will be allowed at public gatherings.
The four reasons to leave your home fall away, as well as the five-kilometre limit on travel.
Up to 50 per cent of the public sector workforce can return to the office, schools can reopen, retail and hospitality can reopen with density limits and religious gatherings and ceremonies can resume with density limits.
Mr Andrews said he was “pleased” to announce the relaxed restrictions.
“I am very proud of every Victorian for the work they have done, and for the sacrifice they made,” he said.
“We have 3400 close contacts, if we had been open through the outbreak, that number would be much, much higher than that and it’s a certainty that I would not be reporting zero cases today and restrictions coming off – I would be reporting a very different set of circumstances.”
The announcement follows a massive testing effort in last 24 hours with nearly 40,000 tests recorded.
Mr Andrews said it was the “biggest single day of testing done throughout the pandemic”.
“I want to thank each and every one of those nearly 40,000 Victorians that went out and got tested,” he said.
Mr Andrews said there would not be a limit on weddings or funerals, but there would be density restrictions based on the venues where they’re held.
“Funerals will have no limits on numbers but need to meet the venue’s density limits indoors and outdoors and the same applies for weddings,” he said.
Sport and recreation activities can also resume with density quotas in place.
Mr Andrews warned Victorians “this is not over”.
“I’m not prepared to pretend to the Victorian community that this is over, there can be some notice period, but we don’t have the luxury of giving people a month’s notice,” he said.
“I’m just not in the business of ignoring advice or shopping around for advice that suits me.
“The only thing that suits all of us is to keep control of this.”
There is expected to be further changes announced to the new rules on Friday next week, depending on case numbers.
