Metropolitan Melbourne's stage four lockdown will be extended for a further two weeks, Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Sunday, telling Victorians "there is only one option".
The restrictions, which were imposed for six weeks in August, were due to end on September 13, but will now continue until September 28. There will be some changes to the current restrictions, including an extension of the current curfew.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews further outlined the roadmap out of Melbourne's stage four lockdown.
Watch: Premier Daniel Andrews extends Melbourne's lockdown. Post continues below.
This is everything we learnt in Daniel Andrews' latest press conference on Sunday.
Metropolitan Melbourne's lockdown is extended.
From 11:59pm on September 13, the current stage four restrictions will be extended for two weeks until September 28, Premier Andrews said.
"We cannot open up at this time," Andrews explained, adding there will be some changes to the restrictions.
From next Sunday, September 13, the current curfew will be extended from 8pm to 9pm, with Andrews saying this is "in recognition that the days are getting longer".
Further to this, exercise will be increased to two hours per day from the current one hour per day restriction.
For people who live on their own, the government will allow "social bubbles" that are similar to the current intimate partner arrangements. This means those who live alone will "be able to partner up with somebody else and they will be able to visit each other". The five kilometre rule will not apply to these "social bubbles", but the curfew will.
Playgrounds will also reopen from September 13, the Premier said.
Step two out of stage four lockdown for Melbourne.
Premier Daniel Andrews further outlined the roadmap out of stage four lockdown.
Subject to public health advice, restrictions will further ease from September 28 if the average number of daily cases falls to between 30 and 50 new cases a day.
After stage four lockdown, public gatherings will increase to five people from two households.
Students will also see a staged return to school, with specialist schools, prep-Year 2 and VCE and VCAL all able to return to face-to-face learning from term four.
Childcare will also open from September 28.
Andrews added that more workplaces will be able to open, but hasn't detailed which industries this will involve yet.
Step three out of stage four lockdown.
Premier Daniel Andrews said that from October 26, Melbourne will move to 'step three' of the roadmap out of coronavirus restrictions.
Andrews said 'step three' will require the daily average of cases over the previous 14 days to be less than five new cases.
From October 26, the curfew will no longer apply.
Further to this, there will be no restrictions on reasons or distances travelled and public gatherings will increase to 10 people outdoors.
People will also be able to have up to five visitors at their home.
Andrews flagged that retail and hairdressing will be able to reopen from October 26, and hospitality will recommence with a predominantly outdoor seated service.
Step four out of lockdown.
From November 23, Premier Daniel Andrews expects Melbourne will be able to move to step four of the roadmap out of lockdown.
At step four, public gatherings can increase up to 50 people outdoors, and up to 20 people indoors.
On top of this, all of retail will open and hospitality will have a limit of 20 people indoors with seated service.
Real estate will also open, Daniel Andrews said, and community support can restart, subject to safety measures.
For weddings and funerals, there will be a maximum of 50 people in step four.
Regional Victoria's next steps.
Daniel Andrews said regional Victoria will be able to move to step two, outlined above, from September 13.
"They essentially move to step two and then we will reassess based on total numbers over a 14 day period," Andrews explained.
"We think that regional Victoria will essentially be able to move to the third step quite soon."
He went on: "It will be, perhaps, a matter of weeks before regional Victoria can move to a very different range of settings compared to metropolitan Melbourne. That would mean more shops open, more people back at work, people still working from home in some instances, but relatively normal, certainly compared to the situation at metropolitan Melbourne will have to be in for a longer period of time."
The news for regional Victoria comes as the number of active cases drops to below 100.
'We can't run. We have to take steady steps.'
Daniel Andrews emphasised that based on the public health advice, extending stage four lockdown was 'the only option.'
"If we open up too fast then we have a very high likelihood, a very high likelihood that we are not really opening up at all. We are just beginning a third wave," Premiers said.
"We can't run out of lockdown. We have to take steady and safe steps out of lockdown, to find that COVID-normal."
He continued: "We must take steady and safe steps to find COVID normal and make sure that in opening up we can stay open - not a situation where we are unable to begin the task of economic repair, unable to begin the enormous task of repairing the damage that this global pandemic has done to communities, to our economy, to businesses, to workers."
Victoria's coronavirus cases.
On Sunday, Victoria recorded 63 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, marking the third consecutive day the state has seen less than 100 new cases.
There are 1872 active cases in Victoria as of Sunday.
The news comes as Victorians were warned that daily coronavirus cases were still struggling to fall to a safe level.
University of Melbourne modelling says based on current levels of social distancing, the 14-day case average is likely to be around 63 cases by the middle of September.
The modelling released by the state government overnight argues re-opening at this point would risk a resurgence, undoing all the gains achieved from lockdown.
On Friday, Victoria's 14-day case average was 116.
More to come.
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