Regional Victorians will have to wait until at least November to have visitors to the home under the state’s roadmap out of lockdown, but a more normal Christmas could be on the cards.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday unveiled Victoria’s “cautious” roadmap, as the state recorded 507 new cases and another death, bringing the toll from the latest outbreak to 11.
Sunraysia residents will be counting down the days until the state hits its 80 per cent vaccinated target, which is expected to happen on or about November 5.
Until then, visitors to the home will be banned, gathering and hospitality caps will stay low, interstate travel will be a no-go and workers must continue to work from home where possible.
Community sport will also not be able to return competitively until 80 per cent of Victorians are fully vaccinated.
However there were some small wins for the regions ready to be served up sooner, with contactless recreation including tennis, golf and bowls to resume once 80 per cent of Victorians have a single dose, which could be as soon as next weekend. At the same time, masks can be removed for hair and beauty appointments.
There will also be some small increases to gathering and venue caps for fully vaccinated people when the state hits 70 per cent double dosed, expected on or around October 26. The lockdown in Melbourne will also ease at that milestone.
There is still no firm plan for getting kids back in the classroom, but an announcement has been promised before Term 4 starts on October 4.
But Sunraysia residents won’t have to wait for changes to the NSW border, with NSW border bubble local government areas, except Albury, changing from extreme risk zones to red zones from Sunday night. The shift means cross-border residents can cross for any reason provided they haven’t left the cross-border region or visited an extreme risk area, and people returning to elsewhere in Victoria from the border region can go home to quarantine.
Outlining the plan, Mr Andrews said there “will be no turning back” once the reopening begins.
“We have got to normalise this, we have got to pass through and beyond this pandemic,” he said.
Mr Andrews said Victorians could look forward to a big family Christmas this year, with the cap of 10 guests set to be imposed when Victoria hits 80 per cent fully vaccinated expected to be increased to 30 visitors by Decmber 25.
However, the Premier was clear the reopening would not mean smooth sailing, warning COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions and deaths were likely to continue to rise into the new year, according to Burnet Institute modelling.
“On or about the 15th of December, cases will peak at about four and a half thousand,” Mr Andrews said.
As of Saturday, more than 200 Victorians were in hospital with the virus, 56 in intensive care and 40 on ventilators.
More information, including a full table illustrating the roadmap, is available here.
Key dates
The following are the indicative dates on which the Victorian Government expects Victoria to hit milestones and restrictions to ease.
September 26: 80% of 16+ with a single dose
October 5: Prep-Grade 2 and VCE, VCAL and final years IB students to return to school. Advice for other grades to be announced by September 30.
October 26: 70% of 16+ fully vaccinated
November 5: 80% of 16+ fully vaccinated
