Hospitality venues in Victoria no longer have a cap on the number of patrons who can be inside at any one time as part of eased restrictions which come into effect today and are set to remain in place for at least the next two months.
The new rules, announced by Premier Dan Andrews at a press conference yesterday, include a lifting of current patron caps on hospitality venues in the state, instead abiding by a density limit of one person per two square metres. 25 people will be permitted before the density limit kicks in.
Patrons are once again able to stand up in a venue, and dancefloors are able to open to a maximum of 50 people, with one person per four square metres. Record-keeping such as QR code sign-in will be mandatory for contact tracing purposes.
Seated venues will be able to host 75 per cent of their fixed seating capacity, with a maximum of 1,000 patrons permitted at any one time.
“Because of the efforts of every Victorian, we’re able to end this year with far fewer limits on what we can and can’t do,” commented Andrews in a statement.
“These are the restrictions that will see us through the summer months – and living as normally as we can until we get a greater sense of what the rest of 2021 will look like.”
Other eased restrictions announced include outdoor gatherings, which will now be capped at 100 people. Up to 30 people are now able to visit a home each day.
Rules around mask-wearing have eased too – while they must be carried at all times, Victorians only need to wear them in specific settings such as indoor shopping centres and supermarkets, while taking public transport or rideshare services, and in large crowds.
The news comes as Victoria today records its 38th day in a row without any new cases of coronavirus. See the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria website here for more info.
