NSW vs Vic: How roadmaps out of lockdown compare

Melburnians will have to settle for only a fraction of the freedoms that fully vaccinated people in Sydney will get once key jab targets are met.

Victoria’s roadmap offers only a fraction of the freedoms that fully vaccinated people in NSW will get once their state reaches the 70 per cent double dose target.

NSW will be a relative paradise at that point, with friends and relatives allowed to visit each other at home, pubs almost completely open and crowds of up to 5000 people at the races.

Churches will be open for indoor worship in NSW, while Victoria’s places of worship will only be allowed to have 50 people at outdoor services.

Shops will be outdoor only in Victoria, while across the border, people will be able to walk into their favourite stores.

And people in NSW will be able to go on holidays within their state, while Victorians will not be able to even cross Melbourne because of a strict 25km limit.

Pubs in Victoria are “gutted” at the plans, which, based on current projections, will prevent people from drinking inside a hotel on Melbourne Cup Day.

Crowds of up to 5000 people will be allowed at the races in NSW.

NSW was predicted to hit 70 per cent double-dosed on October 9, while Victoria will not hit that mark until October 26, based on current vaccination rates.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said Victoria’s measures were cautious, but the council was now working on allowing shops to trade on the footpath or in parks.

“Our traders will be looking longingly at New South Wales, at the more generous freedoms there, but it’s tough with the health advice,” Ms Capp said.

“If it’s outside, then we will turn our city inside out. We’re working on that at a million miles an hour.

“We’ve got lots of public open spaces. We did it with outdoor dining; people said that wouldn’t work but it did.”

Caulfield Cup Day will be behind closed doors, but under NSW rules, Cox Plate Day could have a crowd of 5000 if vaccination rates jump slightly.

But The Valley event will be a television only event because crowds — along with many of the other NSW freedoms — will only be allowed in Victoria when the state hits its target of 80 per cent fully jabbed.

Melbourne spring racing looks set to be held behind closed doors. Picture: Alex Coppel

Victoria is predicted to hit the 80 per cent mark on November 5.

That gives some hope, but there are no guarantees of crowds at the Melbourne Cup on November 2 if vaccination rates increase.

Victoria Racing Club, which controls Flemington racecourse, said it wanted to work with the government to get crowds to the Cup and to Derby Day on October 30 if vaccination rates hit 80 per cent.

“The 80 per cent vaccination target by 5 November is an important milestone for our community to aim for so that business and community activities can resume,” the VRC said in a statement.

Sydney’s Everest race on October 16 – the same day as the Caulfield Cup – will have crowds.

Gyms and swimming pools will open at 70 per cent double dose in NSW.

Victorians will have to wait until the 80 per cent mark for those freedoms.

A trip to the movies will be allowed in NSW at the 70 per cent mark, as well as museums and art galleries.

But those rules will only ease at 80 per cent for Victorians, with a cap of 150 people when they do.

Victoria’s nurses union boss, Lisa Fitzpatrick, who had pleaded with the Premier last week not to reopen too quickly, welcomed the “cautious” plan.

“The Premier repeatedly, and respectfully, acknowledged the important work of nurses and other healthcare workers, recognising the pressure we are already under,” she said.

“We are reassured the roadmap can be paused to prevent Covid patients overwhelming our health system and our workforce so that we are not making impossible decisions about who gets a hospital bed.”