VICTORIAN Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a rollback of restrictions in anticipation of a so-called ‘COVID-safe summer’.
Most noticeably, rules around face masks have been relaxed along with density rules for retail, hospitality, funerals, weddings and more.
Eased restrictions include:
• Masks are only required in a limited number of places: On public transport, in rideshare vehicles and taxis and in some retail settings including indoor shopping centres, supermarkets, department stores and indoor markets
• Victorians will be able to host up to 30 people in their home and outdoor gatherings in public places can increase to 100
• Pubs, restaurants and cafes will shift to one person per 2m2 for both indoors and outdoors with no other cap, and the use of electronic record keeping QR codes will be mandatory
• Beauty services and retail businesses will be able to move to one person per 2m2 – if they also introduce electronic record keeping
• The cap for funerals, weddings and religious gatherings will also be removed, subject to a new density limit of 1 person per 2m2 (for those who want to dance on their special day, dance floors will be able to host up to 50 people, with a density of one person per 4m2)
• In gyms, the density limit will move to 1 per 4m2 – with exercise classes limited to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors
• Community facilities, such as libraries, RSLs, and community halls are subject to a new density limit of 1 person per 2m2
• 50 percent of office workers will return to the office by Monday, January 11, after considering the public health advice at the time (for the Victorian public service, different rules apply – up to 25 per cent will be able to return to the office from 11 January)
According to the Government, these changes will be reviewed at the end of January.
