By Luke Voogt
COVID-19 restrictions in Geelong and the rest of regional Victoria will ease at midnight, acting premier James Merlino announced today.
“That is great news for regional Victoria,” Mr Merlino said in a press conference, while confirming the previously forecast easing of restrictions.
The changes come as a result of no community transmission in regional Victoria this week, according to state government.
From 11.59pm tonight travel restrictions and the five reasons for leaving home will cease to apply in regional Victoria.
All students will return to face-to-face schooling, while public outdoor gatherings will be allowed to increase to 10 people.
Restaurants and cafés can tomorrow reopen to a maximum of 50 customers, with retail, beauty and personal care, entertainment venues and community facilities to reopen in line with density limits.
Religious ceremonies and funerals will be capped at 50, weddings at 10. Offices will be capped at 50 per cent capacity.
But visitors to the home will still be prohibited under the new restrictions.
The new restrictions will also require regional Victorians to wear masks when inside, except when at home, or while seated, eating and drinking at restaurants and cafes.
Restrictions in Melbourne will only ease slightly at midnight from the current snap lockdown levels, and those slightly-eased restrictions will remain in place for the following seven days.
Melburnians are still prohibited from travelling to regional Victoria, without an approved reason.
“I need to be really clear, stopping the spread – and getting our whole state back to normal – means knowing the restrictions that apply to you, and sticking to them,” Mr Merlino said in a statement yesterday.
“We’ve seen examples of people who left Melbourne, broke the rules and took the virus with them. We do not want that to happen again.”
To that end, businesses that reopen in Victoria “must check the IDs of everyone they serve”, Mr Merlino said.
“We’ll also expand our QR requirements to make it mandatory in retail settings like supermarkets and shops.
“The 15-minute threshold will also be removed so anyone entering a shop or a cafe will need to check-in.
“We know it’s an extra ask on staff and customers – but ultimately, it’s about keeping your community safe.”
