Great news for the hospitality and event industries this week with the Victorian Government announcing a faster path out of restrictions at 80% and 90% double vax.

• Victoria will reach its 80 per cent double dose vaccination milestone a week ahead of schedule on Friday 29 October.
• Regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne will unite and move forward on the same restrictions, enabling people from Melbourne to travel to regional Victoria and interstate again.
• Most indoor settings including restaurants, pubs, gyms and hairdressers will open with no caps subject to a 1 per 4m2 limit, if all staff and patrons are fully vaccinated. Most outdoor settings will remain at 1 per 2m2 limit up to 500, where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
• These indoor and outdoor settings will also apply to weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if all attendees are fully vaccinated. Caps of 30 people will apply for weddings, funerals and religious gatherings if vaccination status is unknown.
• Entertainment venues will reopen. For indoor seated venues including cinemas and theatres, there will a 75 per cent capacity or 1 per 4m2 up to 1,000 people and for non-seated indoor entertainment venues there will be a 1 per 4m2 limit with no patron cap.
• Outdoor seated and non-seated entertainment venues including stadiums, zoos and tourism attractions will be open with a 1 per 2m2 limit up to 5,000 where staff and patrons are fully vaccinated.
• Events such as music festivals and exhibitions will be able to host up to 5,000 attendees, subject to any restrictions related to the venue. The CHO may also grant an approval for larger crowds for significant events and venues under the Public Events Framework.
• Masks will remain mandatory indoors but are no longer required outdoors. It is highly recommended you continue to wear a mask outdoors where you cannot physically distance, such as busy street or outdoor market.
• The next milestone in the Roadmap will be when Victoria hits the 90 per cent double dose vaccination target for Victorians 12 years and over - predicted to be as early as Wednesday 24 November.
• At this point, caps or density quotients will be removed for all settings, and masks will only be mandatory indoors in some high-risk settings such as hospitals, aged care, public transport and justice and correctional facilities.
• There will be no restrictions for indoor and outdoor events provided they follow COVIDSafe rules including vaccination requirements.

This means exhibitions and major events will be back this year. For more information: https://lnkd.in/gQ4vgNt