School returns, curfew scrapped, new mask rules: Victoria's new-look lockdown

"It means that getting back to the things we love - seeing more of the people we love - not only is achievable, it’s in our hands," he said.

Changes that will take effect from 11.59pm on Sunday night:

• All primary school students will return to the classroom in the second week of term 4;
• The curfew will be lifted (from 5am on Monday morning);
• The rule restricting shopping trips to one person per household once a day will be relaxed allowed more than one person per household to go shopping;
• Private inspections can resume for real estate;
• Weddings can take place with up to five people;
• Apprentices and uni students in their final year of study will be able to attend onsite for learning and assessment where necessary;
• Gatherings of up to five people will also be allowed to meet with their faith leader outdoors;
• More medical, health and allied professionals will be allowed to offer face-to-face services for non-urgent care;
• elective surgery will be ramped up to 75 per cent of pre-pandemic levels; and
• Rules around visiting hospitals and care facilities will also be slightly relaxed.

Curfew gone, new fines

Melbourne’s nighttime curfew will be lifted from 5am on Monday morning.

Mr Andrews said a new fine of $5000 would be instated for those having unlawful outdoor or indoor gathers.

He said it would "mirrors the announcement" made around fines for those from metropolitan Melbourne trying to leave to regional Victoria without a lawful reason.

"So we are at least a week ahead of schedule," Mr Andrews said, "but we must wait and see how things unfold over the next three weeks and then make those decisions and speak about likely timeframes in November.

"If you are having a party at your house, that is unlawful. That was everything at risk.

"I can't make it any clearer how serious this is. We are so close, so, so, close to beating this thing and it is just not appropriate to be going and visiting friends are to be gathering in car parks."

Professor Brett Sutton said the decision to scrap metropolitan Melbourne’s curfew was a recommendation from his public health team.

The Chief Health Officer said with 15 of today’s 16 new cases connected to outbreak or clusters, Victoria was now in a "different situation" to where it had been in previous weeks during the pandemic.

Professor Sutton said now the curfew was not a "proportionate measure to have in place", when considering the Public Health and Well-being Act.

"We always said that aged care cases would be a stubborn tale of this epidemic curve. That remains the case but it does mean that not insignificant proportion of our daily cases are in aged care and the curfew doesn't address that transmission risk, obviously," he said.

"Over the course of the last couple of weeks, we have talked about 21 mystery cases but really we are getting to one to three community cases per day."

Primary school returns

Pupils in prep to grade six, special school students and VCE and VCAL students will return to on-site learning in the week of 12 October.

Mr Andrews said Melbourne was now "ahead of schedule" and the change was "great news" for parents and carers.
all of our primary school kids back at school in the week beginning 12 October.

"I stress that it won't necessarily be every student in every year level on the one day, it may be staggered throughout the week that in that week beginning 12 October," he said.

Childcare will also be open for all children, and one babysitter - whether paid or unpaid - can now enter the home to care for children.

Workforce limits tweaked

Workforce limits for some industries will also be expanded.

Supermarkets and food distribution centres will return to full capacity, while abattoirs, seafood and meat processing plants will also increase.

Manufacturing will also return with up to 90 per cent of its workforce.

Sole gardeners and landscapers can return to work, while retail pet grooming can also resume.

Dental services resume

Non-urgent services at dental practices will resume, with a shake up on rules around visits to hospitals.

Hospital patients can have one visitor per day for a maximum of two hours, with children under 18 in hospital able to have two parents or carers visit with no time limit.

"That is a significant shift and it is a recognition that at times of great stress it is really important to be able to be as close to loved ones as is safe," Mr Andrews said.

Mr Andrews said while it was a broad rule, it was likely that "vulnerable" settings like intensive care units, may have bespoke arrangements.

Mr Andrews said there would be more announcements to come on services provided by allied health, as may be certain previously-restricted services which they will be able to provide soon.

16 new cases

Victoria recorded 16 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths, as the state prepares for the announcement of eased restrictions on Sunday.

Metropolitan Melbourne's daily average over 14 days is now at 22.1, with 31 cases having an unknown source between September 11 and 24. Regional Victoria's 14-day rolling average is at 0.6.

Victoria's 14-day rolling average is now well under 30 to 50 daily cases, which was the threshold required to trigger the announcement of changes to COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday.

Under the current road map to recovery, childcare centres will now be able to reopen to all families without the need for a permit, more school students will return to classrooms and up to five people from two different households will be allowed to gather in public places.

The eased restrictions come after the resignation of former Health Minister Jenny Mikakos on Saturday morning, who said in a statement posted on Twitter she was "disappointed that my integrity has sought to be undermined".

The resignation came after the Premier gave evidence to the hotel quarantine inquiry on Friday that it was Ms Mikakos' department that was "primarily responsible for the program".

There were 12 new virus cases announced in Victoria on Saturday, with three of those positive cases linked to aged care homes.