The community of Victoria has been congratulated for its positive response to the COVID-19 pandemic so far with Premier, Daniel Andrews declaring that “slowly and surely we are driving the virus into the ground”.
In a statement, Mr Andrews said the State’s fight against the virus spread hadn’t been easy or straightforward.
“In fact, for those Victorians who are part of our health response, it’s been bloody hard work,” he said.
“Three thousand four hundred close contacts identified and isolated, thousands of hours of painstaking interviews, 212,000 tests processed, 850,000 text messages into communities,
“I want to thank those Victorians who’ve made it possible – and I want to thank every Victorian for their patience.”
Mr Andrews said that by yesterday (18 February) most restrictions had eased, allowing the community to return to the previous COVIDSafe Summer rules.
He said there were no longer only four reasons to leave home and the five-kilometre restriction no longer applied.
“Restaurants and retail can reopen, same too with community facilities, entertainment venues and all other public places – although some additional limits on crowd sizes will be in place,” he said.
“Students will be able to head back to school, workers will be able to get back to work.”
Mr Andrews said both public and private offices could return to a 50 per cent on site capacity.
He said some limitations were still in place, including no more than five visitors to a home per day; public gathering with family and friends limited to 20 people; visits to hospitals and aged care homes limited to one household per day; and masks required everywhere indoors, except the home.
“By sticking to the rules and being conscious of who we see and how often we see them, we’ll help keep our friends and families safe,” Mr Andrews said.
