Following advice from Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, the lockdown in regional Victoria will lift from 11:59pm Monday tonight. There have been no new coronavirus cases in regional Victoria and thousands of primary close contacts have been cleared from the regions over the last few weeks.  The Chief Health Officer has advised that from 11:59pm tonight the five reasons to leave the home can be removed in regional Victoria and there will be no limit on the distance regional Victorians can travel from home. However, people will only be able to travel to Melbourne for a permitted reason and you must follow the Melbourne restrictions once there.

Changes to restrictions in regional Victoria from 11.59pm tonight:
 
•    There will be no requirement to stay home and no limit on the distance regional Victorians can travel from home. However, people can only travel to Melbourne for a permitted reason and must follow the Melbourne restrictions once there.
•    If you can work from home, you should work from home.
•    Private gatherings in the home are not permitted.
•    Outdoor gatherings in public spaces can occur with up to 10 people.
•    Face masks will still be mandatory indoors (not at home) and outdoors, including all workplaces, unless an exception applies.
•    Food and hospitality will open for seated service only. A density limit of one person per four square metres will apply, with a maximum of 100 people per venue. Venues smaller than 100sqm can have up to 25 people before density limits apply.
•    Retail can also open and personal services such as beauty and tattooing can resume. Face masks can be removed where required for the service to be performed.
•    Religious gatherings and ceremonies are allowed, with density requirements of one person per four square metres, and no more than 100 people in total indoors and 300 people outdoors per venue.
•    Weddings and funerals are also able to have up to 50 people at a venue. This limit doesn’t include infants under 12 months of age, or the people required to conduct the service.
•    Community sport is open for all ages, including training and competition. Only the minimum number of participants (players, coaches, referees, officials, and carers or parents) needed to train or compete are permitted to attend, subject to a density limit of one person per four square metres. Spectators are not permitted.
•    Entertainment venues can have up to 300 people per outdoor space with a density requirement of one person per four square metres and a cap of 100 people per space indoors. All entertainment facilities are required to have a COVID Check-in Marshal to monitor patrons checking-in with the Service Victoria app.
•    Businesses that are open in regional Victoria but closed in Melbourne – restaurants for dine-in service or beauty salons for example – must check the IDs of everyone they serve.