Victoria to end lockdown five days early; 1838 new cases

MELBOURNE: Haircuts as well as a parma and pot are finally back on the menu for fully vaccinated Victorians.

The state’s long-suffering citizens breathed a sigh of relief as Premier Daniel Andrews announced yesterday the state will end its sixth lockdown five days earlier than planned.

The race to get vaccinated has cemented the state’s early reopening from 11.59 pm on Thursday, which will see the end of lockdown, restrictions on leaving home as well as the scrapping of the controversial 9 pm curfew.

‘‘I can’t tell you how proud I am of our state. The resilience, the courage, the compassion and the conviction that Victorians have shown to get this job done is quite amazing,’’ Mr Andrews said yesterday.

‘‘Not only am I proud but I am deeply grateful. But there is still a little way to go.’’

Large-scale construction sites can also increase to 100 per cent capacity but only if all workers are fully vaccinated.

Those living in metropolitan Melbourne will still be banned from visiting regional Victoria and retail remains closed.

Under the state’s roadmap, the city’s current lockdown — which has run for 73 days — was due to end on October 26, the predicted date by when 70 per cent of those aged 16 and over would be doubled-dosed.

Restrictions will ease further when 80 per cent of the eligible population has received both vaccine doses, originally projected to be November 5.

Victoria announced 1838 new local COVID-19 cases and seven deaths yesterday.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said a third of those cases were from south-east Melbourne, with the City of Casey recording 251 new infections.

‘‘Vaccination rates are increasing significantly there (City of Casey) but from a low base, that is why that vulnerability is reflected in the numbers,’’ he said.

Mr Andrews said it was important to note 90 per cent of those in hospital, and 97 per cent in intensive care, were not fully vaccinated.

‘‘They are not numbers, they are people that are very, very unwell. Some of whom are gravely unwell, gasping for air,’’ he said.

‘‘They are not vaccinated, not fully vaccinated, almost all of them.

‘‘So there is every reason to get vaccinated like so many Victorians already have.’’

While the news was music to the ears of many Victorians, it was not so well received by some in the entertainment industry.

Simon Thewlis, from industry group Save Victorian Events, said yesterday’s announcement had nothing for most of the state’s entertainment industry.

‘‘In a couple of weeks 10,000 people will be allowed at some race meetings, but we still don’t know when we can get more than 150 people at most indoor events or 500 people at most outdoor events,’’ he said.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy applauded the government for making some changes, but said more needed to be done.

‘‘It’s important and positive that the government is starting to move, but we can do more,’’ Mr Guy said.