On 8th July, 2020, residents of metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire returned to Stage 3 Stay at Home restrictions. Residents were asked to stay at home, unless for (a) shopping for food supplies, (b) medical care and caregiving, (c) exercise, and (d) study or work wherein it cannot be done from home.
In August, restrictions were increased as Victoria found itself at the centre of a second wave of infections. Eventually, through September and October, Victoria did control its outbreak – eventually and finally on 28th October, lifting the ban on stay at home orders.
From Tuesday 11:59pm 27 October 2020 Victoria is in Third Step restrictions – thousands of Victorians went back to work. The lifting also saw several customers return to Melbourne’s cafes and retail outlets – an experience many residents had been missing since the stay at home orders.
Here are some of the changes in Melbourne effective from Wednesday:
All retail, beauticians and tattoo parlours will be allowed to reopen, in line with Covid-safe plans.
Cafes, bars and restaurants will be allowed to reopen with indoor seating of up to 20, outdoor up to 50, and recordkeeping and Covid-safe plans in place.
People will also be allowed to gather in groups of 10, excluding infants, from any number of households.
Outdoor entertainment venues can open up, as can libraries and community venues.
People will no longer need a permitted worker form to go to work in Melbourne, but people who can work from home must continue to do so.
People who travel across the ‘ring of steel’ between Melbourne and regional Victoria will still need a permitted worker form.
Two adults plus dependents from one household can visit another or you can visit someone else – once per day.
Weddings can be held with a maximum of 10 people, and funerals can have a maximum of 20 people. Outdoor religious ceremonies can accommodate up to 20 people, or 10 indoors.
Outdoor personal training and fitness will be allowed to have a maximum of 10 people.
