Mega guide to Friday, 6pm lockdown rule changes

Victoria is set to become one state again - and the shops are ready to throw open their doors. Here’s everything you need to know about the changes coming to Melbourne at 6pm.

Melbourne won’t know itself from Friday at 6pm.

The new freedoms coming for Melbourne, as Victoria hits the 80 per cent vaccination target, are the most the city has enjoyed since the pandemic began.

Here are the rules that are changing — and what to expect for everything from shopping to buying a house, seeing your mates to hitting the gym.

Plus, a taste of what life will look like when we hit the 90 per cent vaccination rate on November 24.

RULES CHANGING 6PM, FRIDAY

• Travel from Melbourne to regional Victoria will be allowed

• Early childhood education and care is open

• All students return to school with additional safety measures in place

• On-site adult education returns for fully vaccinated Victorians

• Most indoor settings, including restaurants, pubs, gyms and hairdressers will open with no caps subject to a one person per four square metres limit. All staff and patrons must be fully vaccinated

Long lines for a haircut should ease after 6pm Friday, when indoor density limits change. Picture: Ian Currie

And no more trying shoes on in the street. Picture: Getty Images

• Most outdoor settings will remain at one person per two square metres limit (up to 500 people), where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated. These indoor and outdoor settings will also apply to weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if all attendees are fully vaccinated

• Caps of 30 people will apply for weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if vaccination status is unknown

• Entertainment venues will reopen

• For indoor seated venues, including cinemas and theatres, there will be a 75 per cent capacity or up to 1000 people, and for non-seated indoor entertainment venues there will be a one person per four square metres limit with no patron cap

No more lion around: it’s time to get back to Melbourne Zoo. Picture: Jason Edwards

• Outdoor seated and non-seated entertainment venues, including stadiums, zoos and tourism attractions, will be open with a limit of 5000 people where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated

• Events – such as music festivals – will be able to host up to 5000 attendees

• The chief health officer may also grant approval for larger crowds for significant events and venues

• Masks will remain mandatory indoors but are no longer required outdoors. However, it is highly recommended people continue to wear a mask outdoors where they cannot physically distance

RULES CHANGING WHEN 90pc VAXXED, PREDICTED NOVEMBER 24

• No (capacity) caps anywhere and no density limits

• Masks only required in high-risk indoor settings, such as public transport, prisons, hospitals and aged care

• Double-dose vaccination proof required when attending venues, events

Read the latest on the new settings, and what happens when Victoria hits 90 per cent, in our latest coverage of Covid here.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN SHOPS OPEN

Friday is feeling a lot like Christmas.

The suffering retail industry is embracing the easing of restrictions with a festive-type spirit, as many leave their doors open until midnight.

Shopping precincts have been frantically getting ready after Premier Daniel Andrews surprisingly gave them an early start on Friday.

The updated Victorian roadmap will now allow “non-essential” retail to reopen from 6pm.

Myer plans to extend its trading hours until midnight in the hope of snapping up buyers keen to get their spring racing carnival frocks and glam on.

Chief customer officer Geoff Ikin said they had sold more than 110,000 dresses in the past few weeks online and expected a surge come Friday as our lack lustre social calendars start to fill up.

“We expect to see more summer dresses and footwear flying out the door. Suiting and accessories are also in high demand with the spring racing carnival kicking off this weekend,” he said.

A rush is expected in Melbourne when the city’s favourite stores, including Kmart, reopen to the general public. Picture: Jonatham Ng

Shoppers will return to Chadstone at 6pm. Picture: David Crosling

Chadstone regional general manager Michael Whitehead said the shopping precinct plans to celebrate the long-awaited reopening with a three-piece jazz band and Warm Welcome Back installation as a form of retail therapy when their doors open the minute the clock strikes 6pm.

“We expect to see the centre return to normal occupancy quite quickly and sales revert to pre-pandemic trends,” Whitehead said. “We’ve seen a 20 per cent increase in spend per visit throughout 2021 compared to 2019 which shows that customers are eager to shop particularly as we prepare for Black Friday Week and Christmas.”

— By Alice Coster

OPEN HOMES RETURN TO MELB MARKET

Open homes are set to return to Melbourne’s real estate market from Friday at 6pm as the state reaches the 80 per cent vaccination milestone.

It comes after one of the busiest auction weeks this year, with 1405 homes going under the hammer last week – including the first on-site sales in the city since lockdown ended.

And activity will ramp up even more as metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria come together under the same rules again, with about 1663 auctions scheduled, according to realestate.com.au.

Read more here