Regional Victoria has progressed to the Third Step in the State’s reopening plan, reaching the necessary target on Wednesday (16 September) to trigger an easing of restrictions.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the regions had reached a 14-day average of 3.6 new cases with no mysteries, the necessary ‘trigger point’ in the State’s roadmap.
“What that means is a number of changes to how regional Victorians live and work,” Mr Andrews said.
“As we’ve outlined under the roadmap, ‘household bubbles’ will now be a possibility,” he said.
“That means, your household can choose one other household to be in a bubble. You can visit them in their home; they can visit you in your home – with up to a total of five visitors.”
Mr Andrews encouraged people to see family and friends outdoors as evidence had shown this reduced the risk of contracting the virus.
“To that end, people will be able to gather in groups of 10 in outdoor public places, without a limit on the number of households,” he said.
“Outdoor contact and non-contact sport will begin for regional Victorians aged 18 and under, as well as outdoor non-contact sport for adults.”
He said there would be a staged return to onsite learning for all regional students in the first two weeks of Term Four.
Mr Andrews said hospitality businesses would be able to serve patrons outdoors, with a cap of 50 seated, and venues could serve people indoors with a cap of 10 seated, in line with the four-square-metre rule.
He said travel could also resume for regional Victorians holidaying anywhere in regional Victoria.
