News
COVID-19 restrictions to lift in regional Victoria, with seven-day extension to Melbourne lockdown
COVID-19 restrictions in regional Victoria will lift from 11.59 pm tomorrow night, with the lockdown to be extended in Melbourne for another seven days.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
In regional Victoria, the five reasons to leave home will be removed and there will be no limit on the distance people can travel from home.
But visitors at home will still not be permitted, and masks still need to be worn inside.
These changes are being made after regional Victoria recorded no cases of community transmission this week.
However Acting Premier James Merlino said the government would closely monitor positive cases and their close contacts in the next 24 hours to confirm the changes can go ahead.
Mr Merlino said once restrictions lift, regional Victorians can only travel to Melbourne for permitted reasons and must follow Melbourne restrictions once they are there.
Limits on outdoor public gatherings will be increased to 10 people, with infants under 12 months not included in this cap.
Food and hospitality will be open for seated service only, with a cap of 50 people per venue, subject to density requirements of one per 4 square metres.
Retail can open and personal services such as beauty and tattooing can resume for services where masks can remain on.
Religious ceremonies and funerals will be capped at 50 people, and weddings at 10.
People are encouraged to work or study from home if they can, with offices limited to 50 per cent.
Junior outdoor community sport will return and adults will be able to resume training outdoors, with outdoor pools, including swimming classes permitted with a limit of 50 people and a density quota of one per 4 square metres.
Libraries and toy libraries can open with a cap of 50 people subject to density requirements.
Outdoor entertainment, seated and unseated will have a patron cap of 50 people or 50 per cent of the venue's seating capacity, whichever is lower.
No "ring of steel" separating metropolitan and regional Victoria has been announced.
But businesses that are open in regional Victoria and closed in Melbourne, such as restaurants and beauty salons, must check the IDs of everyone they serve.
This aims to prevent Melburnians from breaking the rules and bringing COVID-19 into regional areas.
"We know it is an extra ask on staff and on customers, but ultimately this is about keeping your community safe," Mr Merlino said.
"We will also expand our Service Victoria QR requirements to make it mandatory to check in to retail settings, such as supermarkets and shops and that will apply across the whole of our state."
While Melbourne's lockdown has been extended, some restrictions have eased slightly for metropolitan areas.
From 11.59pm tomorrow night there will still be only five reasons to leave home - shopping for food and supplies, authorised work and study, care and care-giving, exercise and getting vaccinated.
People will be able to travel a little further for exercise and shopping, with an expanded 10km radius.
Students in years 11 and 12 will return to face-to-face learning, including students in other year levels undertaking a Unit 3/4 VCE subject.
A number of outdoor jobs will also be permitted, such as landscaping, painting, installing solar panels or letterboxing.
Other restrictions including mask-wearing indoors and outdoors remain in place.
Mr Merlino said he expected restrictions to be eased further in Melbourne following the seven day extension.
"I want to be up-front with people that even if all goes well, we won't be able to have people from Melbourne travelling to regional Victoria during the Queen's birthday long weekend," Mr Merlino said.
This comes as one of Victoria's six new locally acquired COVID-19 cases from today was linked to a petrol station in Euroa.
The Victorian man holidayed in Jervis Bay with his family before returning to Melbourne on May 24.
He stopped at BP Euroa during the trip, which has now been named as a Tier 1 exposure site.
Anyone who attended BP Euroa at 29 Tarcombe St between 5 pm and 6 pm on Monday, May 24 must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days.
The BP truck stop at Glenrowan has also been named as a Tier 2 exposure site, with anyone who visited on Monday, May 24 between 4 pm and 4.30pm ordered to isolate, get tested and stay isolated until they receive a negative result.
In a post late last night, the Victorian Health Department said it was working closely with NSW Health to test, trace and isolate the contacts of the newly-identified positive case.
The man reported the onset of symptoms on May 25, the day after he returned to Melbourne, and was tested on May 31.
His spouse and two children have also tested positive for COVID-19 and are included in today's numbers, with health authorities still investigating who caught the infection first in the family, and where they acquired it.
A pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic has been established at Euroa Health in response to the emerging situation, operating from noon until 5 pm today with access via Weir St, Euroa.
Strathbogie Shire Council reminded residents there were only five reason to leave home: shopping for necessary goods and services, care and caregiving, exercise, authorised work and permitted study or to get a COVID-19 vaccination or test.
"We encourage the community to remain vigilant during this time and if they experience any symptoms to also get tested," a spokesperson said.
"As a community, we can get through this by working together and continuing to do the right thing."
Today's cases bring the growing Melbourne outbreak to a total of 60 infections.
There are now more than 350 exposure sites in total on the Victorian Health Department's website.
NSW Health has also listed a number of exposure sites in Jervis Bay and Goulburn, which can be viewed on NSW Health's website.
COVID-19 testing is available at the GV Health Acute Respiratory Clinic, Graham St, Shepparton.
Opening hours are 8 am to 4 pm, seven days a week.
Senior Journalist