Going to the beach, having picnics, hiking and camping: Your guide to all the lockdown restrictions that will be lifted in Australia TODAY
- Western Australia relaxed coronavirus restrictions to allow gatherings of 10
- Residents can go camping, hiking, to the beach and have picnics in parks
- The state has a total of 549 coronavirus cases, but only 55 remain active
- Several elective surgeries including IVF have restarted around the nation
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Western Australians can enjoy picnics in the park, fishing, boating, hiking and camping after the state relaxed coronavirus restrictions today.
Up to ten people can now gather in public, including at weddings which were previously limited to five people.
Beaches in Western Australia were never closed - but now people can lie on the sand in groups of ten as long as they observe social distancing.
Western Australians can enjoy chilling on the beach with mates after the state relaxed coronavirus restrictions today. Pictured: Police officers at Cottesloe Beach in Pert
Camping is also now permitted in WA. Pictured: James Price Point, Kimberley
Premier Mark McGowan said: 'The changes are sensible and reasonable, and are designed to provide a high value social impact.
'Western Australians have done such a great job so far, although these changes are small, I hope it will be of benefit to many Western Australians - they deserve it.'
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The state has confirmed a total of 549 coronavirus cases, but only 55 remain active.
There are currently 16 people in Perth hospitals, including four in intensive care.
Also on Monday, several elective surgeries resumed across the nation.
IVF and screening programs, dental procedures, post cancer operations such as breast reconstruction, eye procedures, joint replacements and all surgery for children under 18 are allowed (stock image)
WA has confirmed a total of 549 coronavirus cases, but only 55 remain active
IVF and screening programs, dental procedures, post cancer operations such as breast reconstruction, eye procedures, joint replacements and all surgery for children under 18 are allowed.
Those procedures represent about a quarter of elective surgery and the National Cabinet will review the rules again on May 11 to see if even more can be allowed.
Announcing the restarting of elective surgery, Prime Minister Morrison said: 'This is an important decision because it marks another step on the way back.
On Sunday Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced residents will finally be freed to go for a drive, sit at the beach, have a picnic, visit a national park and shop for non-essential items from midnight on Friday after weeks of restrictions.
Drivers must remain within 50km of their home.
In the Northern Territory national parks will be open from noon on Friday.
Under the eased restrictions, outings are limited to members of the same household or an individual and one friend. Pictured: a couple doing boxing training in Burleigh on Saturday
States and territory leaders say there is no fast and easy way to return to a 'pre-coronavirus' norm.
Pub bosses are discussing a raft of rules to minimise social contact - including bans on communal items like pub buzzers, water jugs and plastic laminated menus.
With a vaccine yet to be developed, the Australian Hotels Association said a 'new world order' should be expected when pubs open their doors again.
Pictured: A nurse speaking with a motorist who arrived at the Bondi drive-through testing clinic on April 21
Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy (pictured) said Australia is in a 'position of strength' but warned it was not the time to become complacent
'They [pub owners] are thinking about anything that people touch – water jars at the end of the bar, those laminated menus, the buzzer,' the association's NSW chief executive officer John Whelan said.
Australian National University microbiologist Peter Collignon last week told Daily Mail Australia pubs and hotels may not return to normal until September - although they could re-open under strict conditions in July.
Sign-in and sign-out procedures to maintain contact tracing and a 50 per cent capacity limit at venues are among those measures being discussed by hospitality industry leaders.
The implementation of a staggered return to work could also reduce the risk of transmission on buses - accompanied by a ban on standing and preventing passengers from sitting next to each other.
Globally, there are now more than 2.9 million cases of coronavirus, including at least 203,307 deaths.
The pandemic is still raging in the United States and swathes of Europe, while a handful of countries who thought they'd seen the worst of it have now reported a second wave.
In response, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has doubled down on his insistence Australia's borders would stay closed for the foreseeable future.
But he said an arrangement with New Zealand is a logical first step in lifting restrictions, and then Australia could turn its attention to other nations within the region that are enjoying the same success.
'You could look at an arrangement with New Zealand given they are at a comparable stage as we are in this fight against this virus,' he said.
Mr Dutton said it was very hard to see how Australia could open up its borders with other countries like the United States and United Kingdom at this point in time, given the lay of the land overseas currently.
'That will be sometime off,' he said.
