Whittlesea and Hume residents will be able to move freely around metropolitan Melbourne from Friday, with the city’s sixth lockdown set to end on Thursday night.
On Sunday, Premier Daniel Andrews announced that the lockdown would end at 11.59pm on Thursday, when 70 per cent of eligible Victorians are expected to be fully vaccinated.
The five reasons to leave home and curfew will be removed, as will the 15-kilometres travel radius.
Mr Andrews announced a number of changes to the state’s original roadmap out of lockdown, including the return of indoor dining at restaurants for up to 20 patrons.
The return to school plan has also been brought forward, with students in years 5,6, 7, 10 and 11 joining preps and year 1, 2 and 12 students onsite from Friday.
Most students will attend school part-time until November 8.
The biggest chance was the announcement that people can now visit other people’s homes. This was not expected until the 80 per cent double dose threshold was met.
Up to 10 people (including dependents) per day will be able to visit homes in both regional and metropolitan Melbourne.
It is highly recommended that people over the age of 12 be fully vaccinated before visiting homes.
The announcement comes despite the number of people catching COVID-19 still relatively high.
The Department of Health, 1903 locally acquired cases on Monday. from 69,823 tests.
Mr Andrews the next milestone in the roadmap will be when Victoria hits the 80 per cent double dose vaccination target, which is predicted to be the first week of November.
“Victorians have sacrificed so much to protect their families, friends and the whole community from coronavirus – and have saved countless lives because of it,“ he said.
“The milestone we’re about to hit marks a new and hopeful path for the whole state – allowing businesses to reopen and Victorians to get back to things they love.”
