Masks, office workers cap among Victorian restrictions to lift on Friday

More restrictions will be eased later this week, after Victoria hit an incredible virus milestone. These are the rule changes in effect from Friday.

Mask rules have been relaxed as Victoria records no active COVID-19 cases for the first time in three months.

Acting Premier James Merlino said on Tuesday Victorians would no longer need to wear masks in retail settings from 6pm Friday, but would still need to carry one and wear them on public transport, in rideshare vehicles, and in hospitals.

Up to 100 people would also be allowed to gather in private settings, with outdoor gatherings in public places boosted to 200.

Density limits will also be reduced in some settings.

And the cap on office workers has been scrapped, with workplaces able to return to 100 per cent.

Victorian public servants will be forced to return to their main office at least three days a week, with five new alternative work hubs to be built in Melbourne’s suburbs.

The Herald Sun can reveal the state will release a new flexible work policy as it negotiates how the public service will function post-pandemic.

Another set of restrictions has been relaxed, with masks no longer mandatory in any retail settings. Picture: David Crosling

Public servants will be notified as early as Tuesday morning they will be expected to return to their “primary office” at least three days a week, with cabinet believed to have signed off the decision and changes likely to come into effect by Monday.

And in welcome news for footy fans, an extra 25,000 people will be allowed into Thursday’s MCG Carlton-Collingwood blockbuster.

The AFL is set to announce on Tuesday that crowd capacity at all Victorian stadiums will increase from 50 per cent to 75 per cent capacity from Thursday, for Round 2.

Chief health officer Brett Sutton said he was confident that footy crowds could be managed at up to 75,000.

But he said it didn’t necessarily mean a step closer to no crowd caps.

“I think for very large venues, getting to 100 per cent is very difficult,” he said.

“We’ll continue to review how things are going at 75 per cent.”

Prof Sutton said lifting the cap to 75 per cent was conditional on simulation exercises that would run over the next month.

The exercises would test the potential to track and trace fans in the case of an outbreak.

“We’ve had desktop exercises with those venues and with the AFL to try and run through some of that but I think a simulated test of a potential case would be very useful,” he said.

“We’ll continue monitoring of those crowds and of the conditions that have been applied to those venues.

“I’m still confident that we can go to 75,000. We’ll continue to monitor. None of this is a free pass.”

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said removing the work-from-home requirements and lifting the cap on workplaces were both critical steps to rebooting the city’s economy.

“These measures combined with increasing capacity limits of 75 per cent for footy and live-music gigs will go a long way to bringing the buzz back to Melbourne,” she said.

“Every extra person in their city office, or at a concert, delivers real opportunities for local businesses that have struggled through the worst trading conditions in living memory.

“Removing mask restrictions for major retail stores is also another clear sign of how much our city has achieved in the fight against COVID.

Victoria Aboriginal Health Services CEO Michael Graham receives his COVID-19 vaccination in Fitzroy. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Luis Ascui

“Businesses within the City of Melbourne were hit harder than anywhere else from the pandemic but our economic recovery has started.

“We will need co-ordinated and continued support to ensure we create as many jobs as possible to keep Melburnians in work.”

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Paul Guerra welcomed the easing of restrictions.

And he said the lifting of the cap on footy crowds was a “wonderful step forward” that would have a flow on affect for many Victorian businesses.

But he called on the government to go a step further and immediately drop all remaining restrictions.

“Let’s remove all restrictions, but in the understanding that as the virus comes back, and we know it’s likely, that we’ll accept the targeted, proportionate and appropriate restrictions at that point in time,” he said.

“I think every Victorian has shown the ability to do that, every business in the state has shown the willingness and the ability to do that, let’s enter that social contract that enables us as a state, and as every business and every citizen to move forward.”

It comes as the state announced there were no longer any active cases of coronavirus in the state.

With international flights currently suspended, the milestone was achieved after the last remaining COVID-19 case in hotel quarantine dropped off on Tuesday.

There were again no new local cases in Victoria on Tuesday for the 24th day in a row from more than 13,500 tests.

Victoria has so far administered more than 55,000 doses of vaccine in the first four weeks of the program.

New high-volume vaccination centres – the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre and the Royal Exhibition Building – were also launched this week.

Victoria had as many as 27 active cases last month after multiple outbreaks at hotel quarantine facilities.

Originally published as Masks, office workers cap among Victorian restrictions to lift on Friday