Regional Victoria will exit the state-wide lockdown from midnight on Thursday, when most businesses and venues will be able to reopen with capacity and density limits.
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The changes will apply with the exception of Shepparton.
From midnight tomorrow:
- The five reasons to leave home will lift and there will be no restrictions on distance or time.
- The 'authorised worker' permit will be removed.
- Office workers will be able to return up to 25 per cent or 10 people.
- Regional schools will be able to reopen for onsite learning for Prep to Grade 2 and Year 12 students.
- Funerals will be allowed up to 20 people.
- Weddings will be capped at 10 people, in addition to those required to run the event.
- Restaurants and cafes can reopen for seated service with patron caps, including 10 people indoors, 20 outdoors.
- Masks still required indoors and outdoors.
- Businesses must check IDs of all customers.
- Childcare back to normal.
Premier Daniel Andrews said "regional Victorians have done a fantastic job".
"There are far less cases in regional Victoria than there are in Melbourne," Mr Andrews said.
"Outbreaks have been brought under control. That's a testament to the great work of our contact-tracers, our public health teams, but also the great work of regional Victorians over these recent weeks.
"That's why today with the exception of Greater Shepparton, we can announce from 11.59pm tomorrow night, the lockdown will end in regional Victoria with the exception of Greater Shepparton, those five reasons to leave your home will no longer apply. Schools will reopen for prep, Grade 1, grade 2, year 11s studying year 12 subjects and our year 12s."
He said he hoped Shepparton would join the rest of regional Victoria "sometime next week" and had "done an amazing job."
"On Shepparton, we hope to have them catch up to the rest of regional Victoria sometime next week and we will make those announcements as soon as we have tidied up the last bits of the outbreak there.
"There were no new cases overnight which is good. We have picked up a few through day 13 testing. The numbers are stable. We need a few more day 13 tests to be done. We need time to see it settle and be certain that that is the pattern, that is where it has landed."
He said while the state would not return to a 'ring of steel' system, there would be a "significant boost" to the enforcement of the regional-metropolitan border.
Police will conduct spot checks to ensure people from metropolitan Melbourne are not in the regionals and not unless for authorised reasons. The fine for breaching the Chief Health Officer's directions is $5452.
"If you are travelling into regional Victoria, you can expect to be pulled over," Mr Andrews said.
"It won't necessarily be every single car, but there'll be number plate recognition technology used - there will be static presence of Victoria Police at different parts on major roads, so won't be as, I suppose, predictable as a completely static checkpoint, but why would you take that risk?
"If you don't have lawful reason to go to regional Victoria, then, please, do not go to regional Victoria."
The announcement comes as the state recorded 221 new cases, 98 of which were linked to known outbreaks.
It brings the total number of active cases to 1920.
Of those cases, 285 are aged zero to nine years old, 305 are between the age of 10 and 19, there are 498 in their 20s and 315 in 30s.
About 86 per cent of all active cases are under the age of 50.
There are 120 Victorians in hospital, 33 in intense care - 15 of those are on a ventilator.
Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton said regional Victoria was in a "fragile state" and had recorded five new COVID cases today.
"There's a case in Mildura who is normally a resident of metro Melbourne has travelled there," Mr Sutton said.
"The reasons for the trip we are looking into still but there are a few exposures related to that trip. There is a case in the Latrobe Valley, likely acquired in Melbourne. All of the household contacts have tested negative which is a good sign. There will be low level exposures associated with that case.
"There is a case in Mitchell shire and one in the Bellarine Peninsula, both linked to construction work in the city. We are working through interviews with the Mitchell shire case but the Bellarine case, in particular, doesn't appear to have community exposures of any concern. There is a case in Moorabool and we are looking into further investigations for that and can provide more information soon."
He said while the changes were significant, it was not "freedom day".
"It's not Freedom Day or something back to substantial movements, interactions with people but there are some freedoms to enjoy and I hope people enjoy them but I hope people keep in mind that that's a fragile state with introductions of this virus happening anywhere across Victoria possible," he said.
"Doing the right thing helps manage those risks as much as possible. Every local business owner and work needs to recognise the role you can play in managing the risk and doing the right thing and again the callout to get vaccinated."
Mr Andrews said Melbourne would exit the lockdown when the city reached its vaccination goal.
"Melbourne will have the same experience once we get people vaccinated and move through the 70 and 80 per cent gateways," he said.
He said vaccine passports would be coming into circulation at a state level next year to avoid sweeping state-wide lockdowns.
"Everyone (will have) a unique code, a sequence of numbers that can be linked to the Services Victoria app. We don't store that data. It is a matter of you either get a green tick or red cross as to whether you have been vaccinated," he said.
"We will deliver that as seamlessly as possible so the act of QR coding into a venue will also record whether you're vaccinated or not. You will be admitted if you are and you will not be admitted if you are not. Another reason to get vaccinated as quickly as possible."
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Jessica Greenan
Journalist at The Warrnambool Standard covering both Moyne Shire and Corangamite Shire Council. Sometimes court. Special interest in all things environment.
Journalist at The Warrnambool Standard covering both Moyne Shire and Corangamite Shire Council. Sometimes court. Special interest in all things environment.
