Victoria's Covid restrictions ease amid two new virus cases and two deaths recorded

Victoria's Covid restrictions ease amid two new virus cases and two deaths recorded

Victoria has recorded two new cases of COVID-19 and two further deaths in the past 24 hours as Melbourne is enjoying its first day out of hard lockdown. Retail, hospitality and beauty salons are now able to reopen, although a number of measures designed to limit the spread of coronavirus are still in place.

Retail and hospitality, including cafes, restaurants and pubs, are able to reopen for a maximum of 20 people inside and 50 outside.

Beauty and personal services return from Wednesday, also with COVID-safe plans in place including mask-wearing.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the two deaths, involving a man in his 70s and a man in his 80s, occurred several weeks ago but had now been confirmed as COVID-related fatalities.

Premier Daniel Andrews also said both of the new cases were close contacts of people who had already been diagnosed, and both were quarantined at home when they tested positive.

The Premier said 16,200 retail stores were reopening today, along with 5,800 cafes and restaurants, and 1,000 beauty salons.

The figures come after two consecutive days of zero new cases.The rolling average for metro areas has dipped slightly from 2.8 yesterday to 2.7 today.

Victoria recorded zero new cases on both Monday and Tuesday, seven on both Saturday and Sunday, one on Friday and five on Thursday.

Before Monday, the last time the state had zero cases was on June 9 before the second wave hit.

The rolling average for regional Victoria has finally reached zero and the number of mystery cases has halved from six to three today.

The four reasons to leave home have also been scrapped, however the 25 kilometre travel radius will remain in place for the next two weeks.

Victoria loosened its strict home visitation rules with one household consisting of two adults and two dependants allowed to visit another household within the 25 kilometre limit.

Outdoor gatherings are no longer be limited to two households as long as there is a maximum of ten people.

While Victoria is relaxing some safety precautions, others not abandon yet. One of these is mandatory mask wearing. A protective measure put in place by the state government to help prevent the spread of coronavirus,

Compulsory mask wearing will still be part of a Covid-safe Victoria until at least 2021, Premier Daniel Andrews indicated in a press conference today.

“Masks need to be with us across the whole state for some time to come. I know it’s frustrating. I know that no-one particularly enjoys wearing a mask,” he said. “We will be wearing masks, I think, at least into the end of the year and we could wear them into next year.”

Detail information about Victorian Covid restrictions available from Department of Health and Human Services folowing web link

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/victorias-restriction-levels-covid-19