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After 37 days with no new cases of coronavirus, Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews is easing restrictions on home gatherings and the use of masks and moving towards a system of density limits rather than restricting the number of people in restaurants.
Private sector companies from 11. January bring up to 50 percent of employees back to their offices. They are currently at 25 percent.
Public sector workers have continued to work from home to make way for the private sector.
From the 11th. The Victorian public sector will be reduced to 25 percent of the workforce in their offices on January 8th. February changed to 50 percent.
Mr. Andrews said that all of these goals are subject to public health advice at this time.
Starting Monday, Victorian households can bring up to 30 visitors per day into their homes.
The limit on the number of people attending weddings, funerals, and religious gatherings will be removed. Instead, a two-square-meter rule applies.
Dance floors at weddings can accommodate a maximum of 50 people with one person per four square meters.
A wedding or home service is treated like any other gathering with a 30 person limit.
Mr Andrews said masks have been an important insurance policy to protect against the spread of the coronavirus.
Masks must be worn by everyone at all times and must be worn in shopping malls, supermarkets and department stores, said the Prime Minister.
« For example Kmart, Myer, Ikea, Bunnings, JB HiFi to name a few, and indoor markets like Prahran Market, » he said.
« Big, big crowds, people you don’t know, not everyone has QR codes. A mask must or must be worn in these settings. «
He said masks continue to be highly recommended in other environments, both indoors and outdoors, where social distancing is from 1. 5 meters cannot be serviced.
« We would encourage people to wear a mask whenever they can and wherever there is doubt that they will come in closer contact than this 1. 5 meters, « he said.
Upper limits for the number of people in restaurants and cafés are being replaced by density limits – one person per two square meters for indoors and outdoors.
« Standing duty is now permitted again. You don’t have to sit, you can stand at the public bar, « said the Prime Minister.
« This is just about making sure we have a set of rules that are simple, straightforward, and accommodate many venues from small to much larger, » he said.
Decisions about the number of people who can attend major events are negotiated from event to event.
« I can’t give you a Boxing Day test number or Australian Open number today, » he said.
We have become experts in « reefing rates » and « roadmaps » – following the rules and sticking to restrictions.
Change and change week after week – we have adapted and re-adapted. But we did it because it meant protecting our state.
Until we have a vaccine – and even then, until we have a widely available vaccine – some aspects of these rules and restrictions must continue to be part of our reality.
At the same time, and because of the efforts of every Victorian, this year we can finish what we can and cannot with far fewer restrictions.
Our new « COVIDSafe Summer » will be in operation at least until the end of January so that the Victorians have a little more certainty about what the next few months will be like.
These are the restrictions that will be with us during the summer months – and live as normally as possible until we get a better sense of what the rest of 2021 will be like.
Under the changes and starting tonight at 23. At 59 o’clock, masks are only needed in a limited number of places: on public transportation, ridesharing and taxis, in some retail stores including malls, supermarkets and department stores, and indoor markets.
Although masks are no longer mandatory in most cases, it is clear that wearing a face covering will slow the spread of the virus. Therefore, masks are still recommended indoors or outdoors if the distance cannot be kept.
As previously announced, Victorians can accommodate up to 30 people in their home. Outdoor gatherings in public places – the beach, the park – can be increased to 100.
The density limits in our pubs, restaurants and cafes will be moved to 1 person per 2 square meters without any other cap, both indoors and outdoors. The use of electronic records – a QR code – is mandatory.
And for small operations there are no density limits when the number of users is below 25.
For retail and beauty services, companies can move to 1 person per 2 square meters – if they also introduce electronic recording. For companies where this is simply not possible, the existing density limits still apply.
The funeral and wedding cap will also be removed, subject to a new density limit of 1 person per 2 square meters. For those who want to dance on their special day – or maybe even on the Nutbush – the dance floors can accommodate up to 50 people with a density of 1 person per 4 square meters.
The same rules apply to night clubs. But remember, the health advice remains in place: no hugs, no handshakes and if you feel sick you need to get tested and stay home.
The same new density limits apply to community facilities like our libraries, RSLs, and community halls.
In fitness studios, the density limit is shifted to 1 per 4 square meters – with exercise classes being limited to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors.
And looser restrictions on our entertainment venues will result in more Victorians enjoying everything that makes us the cultural capital of Australia.
For those who are tired of seeing their coworkers just sitting in a square on the screen, we can go until April 11th. Get a 50 percent return on office workers on January 1st, after considering public health recommendations back then. For the Victorian civil service, up to 25 percent can be paid from the 11th. Return to the office on January 8th and. February up to 50 percent.
As always, this isn’t all for everyone. But these are the cautious steps we can take to keep protecting our state and everything we have built.
This service may contain material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service that is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced.
AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time, 10 hours before GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
Victoria, Daniel Andrews, Coronavirus
World News – AU – Masks that are only required in certain circumstances must always be worn in Victoria
Ref: https://www.abc.net.au
