YES, Christmas is allowed. The way Victorians have been able to turn the tide on the Coronavirus pandemic has been admirable, and we’re all crossing our fingers we can stay with minimal active cases through to the New Year and beyond.
We’ve had to interpret a kaleidoscope of restrictions this year to determine what we can get away with, and the lead-up to Christmas is no different.
So here are the details, from Premier Dan Andrews himself:
“For those keen to get on and plan how many seats there’ll be around the table, I won’t waste another second,” the Premier said on Sunday.
• From Monday, December 14, you will be able to host up to 30 people in your home for Christmas Day (babies under 12 months don’t need to be counted in the cap) – just in time for catch-ups, and Christmas barbies – and for Jewish communities, the closing days of Hanukkah.
From this week:
• You are allowed 15 visitors to your house per day. – These can be split across different times – ten for lunch, and five for dinner – as long as people are sticking to a total of 15.
• Outdoor gatherings in a public place, such as a park, will increase to 50.
• For those couples who’ve had to delay their special day, weddings will increase to 150 people. The same number will apply to funerals and religious ceremonies indoors.
Hospitality, cinemas, galleries and museums will all have their density caps increased, and in good news for community clubs, contact and non-contact sports can begin for adults as well as kids – 150 people indoors with a group size of up to 20 and 500 outdoors with groups of up to 50.
And, in case you hadn’t yet heard the good news, there are new rules around masks:
• In short, you’ll still need to wear one when you’re indoors and on public transport – and where you can’t keep your distance.
• But if you’re outdoors and you can keep a safe distance, masks will no longer be mandatory.
“I know for some people, they’ll think this is too slow and still too restrictive,” Mr Andrews said on Sunday.
“But the point is, masks are a small sacrifice that help keep all of us safe. And as we’ve been reminded so recently, all it takes is one case before you’ve got a much bigger outbreak.
“Getting here was by no means guaranteed. But we did it. You did it.
“It’s been a long, hard winter. Now, it’s time to enjoy the sun.”
