Victoria records no new coronavirus cases overnight, hospitality and retail to reopen
The hospitality and retail industries will reopen from Wednesday, with Premier Daniel Andrews officially announcing new freedoms for Melbourne. It comes as Victoria marked a significant milestone, with zero new coronavirus cases or deaths overnight.
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Melbourne’s retail and hospitality industries will reopen from Wednesday under a two-phase easing of the city’s restrictions.
Restaurants, hotels, cafes and bars will reopen, with a maximum of 20 people indoors and up to 50 people outdoors.
Beauty and personal services will also reopen.
Outdoor contact sport for those aged 18 and under will also resume, along with non-contact sport for adults.
RESTRICTIONS ARE LIFTING, HERE ARE THE NEW RULES
Personal training, fitness and dance classes can also be held outdoors with up to 10 people, and the number of people at outdoor pools can increase to 50, subject to density limits.
Libraries and community venues will be able to open for outdoor events.
Outdoor entertainment venues can also begin hosting visitors.
Up to 20 people will be able to attend outdoor religious ceremonies, along with one faith leader.
Weddings can be held with up to 10 people, and up to 20 will be able to attend funerals.
Workplaces will no longer need to be on the permitted work list to open up, although the government is urging people to work from home if they are able to.
The 25km travel limit will remain for another fortnight, Mr Andrews said.
“We don’t want a situation where people are travelling the length and breadth of the city and we don’t want a situation where people are attracted to places of great beauty,” he said.
“We don’t want everyone down on the Mornington Peninsula or everybody at the 1000 steps or in the Dandenongs. There would be a crowd we would never say yes to.”
But health authorities have held back on allowing in-home visits, with more details to be announced on Tuesday.
The Premier hinted that a bubble arrangement was not on the cards.
“The most dangerous environment for the spread of this virus is in your home,” Mr Andrews said.
“When you have visitors, you let your guard down, and they go back to their house, they have visitors and all of a sudden there are chains of transmission that spread silently and very quickly.”
It comes after no new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Victoria overnight — the first time since June 9.
Melbourne’s 14-day average has dropped to just 3.6, and no new coronavirus-related deaths were recorded across the state.
SECOND PHASE OF RESTRICTIONS ON NOV 9
More restrictions will be lifted from November 9 if case numbers continue to plummet, with the 25km limit to be lifted, and Melbourne’s “ring of steel” to be scrapped.
“The metropolitan Melbourne regional border will go … the state will be one again,” Mr Andrews said.
“For the purposes of travel and movement, COVID-safety will still be critical, following the rules will still be critical but that little extra time means that we can align both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria at that time.”
In the second phase of reopening, the capacity of pubs and restaurants will increase, with up to 40 inside and 70 outside. Religious gatherings will expand with up 20 worshippers indoors, and 50 outdoors.
Gyms and indoor fitness will be able to reopen with strict safety precautions in place, while indoor pools will be able to open for up to 20 people.
Additional changes will also be made to indoor community sport, non-contact junior sport and indoor sports capable of 1.5m distancing.
Rules that remain unchanged include mandatory mask wear across the state — including in gyms — and for people to work from home if they can.
Mr Andrews moved to reassure Victorians that the second phase of restrictions would be eased, saying: “These changes will occur.”
“Barring a day where we have, or a series of days we have very high case numbers, then we will make these changes … if the trend we are seeing now continues — and it doesn’t have to be zero every single day between now and the eighth. That is not the strategy we are after.”
And in good news for cricket fans, Mr Andrews said crowds are set to return to the MCG for the Boxing Day Test.
“Boxing Day is very different because that is some way off,” he said.
“We will get a crowd at the G for the Boxing Day test — I don’t know how big it will be but there will be a crowd there. That the advice I have and that’s what we’re working towards.”
PM REACTS TO END OF VICTORIA’S ‘LONG WINTER’
Scott Morrison has welcomed the end of Melbourne’s lockdown and congratulated Victorians for their sacrifices in a “long winter”.
And the Prime Minister has flagged that he will be working with the premiers of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales to reopen interstate borders.
In a joint statement with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Health Minister Greg Hunt, Mr Morrison praised the “patience and perseverance” of Victorians.
But they urged the state government to provide more “clarity” in the days to come about ongoing rules.
“Victorians have worked hard and sacrificed a lot to get to this point,” the federal leaders said.
“Today’s announcement is a reflection of the dedication and effort of Victorians - taking the next step to reopen Victorian society and the state’s economy.”
“After a long winter, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Victorians.”
“It will be important for the Victorian government to provide even more clarity to Victorians in the coming days and where restrictions do not have a health basis that they are removed quickly.”
“We congratulate Victorians - this was the announcement that they were expecting and one they have worked hard to achieve. It is important for Victoria to safely open and stay safely open.”
In the statement, Mr Morrison said he and the state premiers would “continue to take advice regarding hard border restrictions”.
- Tom Minear
RELIEF AFTER SUNDAY DISAPPOINTMENT
Monday’s long-awaited announcement comes after the Premier delayed significant announcements on Sunday while awaiting further test results from the city’s northern suburbs.
But no new positive results were returned on Monday after more than 1100 COVID-19 tests results came back negative late on Sunday, in addition to a further 2500 tests on Saturday.
More than 15,000 swabs were taken in Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland and Nillumbik since October 20, amid a testing blitz sparked by an outbreak.
“It was worth waiting to be absolutely confident to be sure that our team had their arms around those positive cases and fundamental control of the outbreak and that is exactly what these numbers show us and I want to thank everyone who got tested,” Mr Andrews said.
On Sunday, 39 cases were linked to the outbreak, including those associated with East Preston Islamic College and Croxton Special School, with DHHS still investigating links to other positive cases in the area.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said Mr Andrews had to reopen Victoria from Monday to relieve the “sense of devastation” in his home state.
He said the “only reason” the federal government could identify for Sunday’s delay was “that they don’t have confidence in their own contact tracing system”.
“And if that’s the case, then the Premier needs to be absolutely clear. But that’s not the case, then there can be no cause for further delay today,” Mr Hunt said.
“Today is a day when we respectfully but categorically call on the Victorian Premier to fulfil his side of the bargain and to allow Victorians to begin to regain their lives.
Mr Hunt said he met with Chief Scientist Alan Finkel on Monday for an update on the contact tracing capacity of the states and territories.
He said seven out of eight jurisdictions had “outstanding tracing capability” and Victoria had “improved significantly”.
“That quality is on the improve and what that means is that Victoria is now in a position where — with low case numbers and a significantly improved contact tracing system — we believe they are in a position to open in a COVID-safe way,” Mr Hunt said.
Senior federal Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten said on Monday morning that he could understand “why many Melburnians were disappointed” with the Premier’s decision to pause the city’s reopening.
“I can tell you first-hand that it has been a very long haul. You know, many businesses probably would have hoped with some indications that we would get more restrictions lifted yesterday,” Mr Shorten said.
“Sunday is normally the day where we get the good news. So I’m sympathetic, but I have to say for that, in terms of smashing the number of cases and getting it down since July, Melbourne has been successful. Dan Andrews has been able to do that.”
“I’m quietly confident that a further loosening of these restrictions could be announced in the next couple of days or even by the end of the day.”
MELBOURNE LOCKDOWN COSTS $10M A DAY
Melbourne’s lockdown has wiped almost $12 billion from the national economy and is still costing $100 million a day.
Between early August and the middle of this month, the federal government has also provided $15.8 billion in direct economic support to Victorians.
Treasury deputy secretary Luke Yeaman told a Senate hearing on Monday morning that the $100m daily hit was the best estimate of the economic hit of the ongoing restrictions.
He said 1200 jobs were lost on average a day in August and September, a figure which was expected to remain consistent throughout October.
“The longer that it goes, there is the risk of further business closures,” Mr Yeaman said.
“Clearly the Victorian situation is having a very significant impact on the economy.”
“Victoria is going backwards while the rest of the country is going forwards.”
TOURISM INDUSTRY’S NEW DESPERATE PLEA
Victoria’s tourism industry wants a $1.3 billion lifeline, amid research showing 165,000 jobs could be lost by this time next year due to ongoing restrictions.
Tourism and Transport Forum and Victoria Tourism Industry Council have joined forces calling for state government support.
Data compiled for TTF by tourism economic consultants Stafford Strategy revealed the tourism industry faced a “fall off a cliff” by March 2021 when the federal government’s JobKeeper subsidy was due to stop.
TTF chief executive Margy Osmond said Victoria was a unique case in that it had suffered the triple whammy of the summer bushfires and two COVID lockdowns with little or no intrastate travel, while other states had the benefit of their residents being able to take holidays internally.
“Victoria’s visitor economy has really taken a battering, haemorrhaging almost $250 million per month, and will require life support over the next few years if it is to retain its position as one of Australia’s most desirable and visited tourist destinations,” she said.
“Sustained and strategic funding over the next four years is a must to restore the state’s tourism industry back to its pre-COVID glory days, and with little international travel likely before the end of next year, the competition for the domestic tourism dollar will be fierce.”
The industry is calling for a $1.3 billion financial support package over four years.
TTF and VTIC are also calling on the federal government to continue JobKeeper, which could save more than 85,000 tourism jobs in Victoria by late 2021.
VTIC chief executive Felicia Mariani was disappointed Sunday’s announcement by the Premier did not mention lifting travel restrictions to the regions.
“We need to understand when we can expect travel restrictions to be lifted and allow Melburnians to visit regional Victoria,” she said.
“To hear (previously) that the ‘ring of steel’ could be in place until late November is beyond belief.
CAMPAIGN TO BRING VICTORIANS BACK TO CBD
Melburnians are being urged to get ready to bring the city back to life.
Some of the biggest names in business are backing the Let’s Melbourne Again campaign, which aims to reinvigorate the city and support its economic recovery from COVID-19.
Creative company Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, which has been based in the city for 75 years, is behind the campaign, which has the backing of 7-Eleven, ANZ, Carlton Draught and Village Cinemas as well as the City of Melbourne.
Clemenger chief executive Jim Gall said the company wanted to help Melbourne get back on its feet.
“We’ve lost our swagger, we’ve lost our confidence,” Mr Gall said.
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Originally published as Victoria records no new coronavirus cases overnight, hospitality and retail to reopen