As of 11:59pm on 3 February 2021 new statewide restrictions are in effect:
- The limit on the number of people gathering in a household is reduced from 30 to 15, meaning the household members plus 15 visitors (excluding children under 12 months of age).
- Masks are mandatory in indoor spaces, including workplaces. If you have visitors in your home, it is strongly recommended that masks are worn during the visit. Masks must be worn in indoor spaces apart from when eating or drinking. If you are planning to leave your home – take a mask.
- The 75 per cent ‘return to work’ cap in both public and private sectors scheduled for Monday 8 February is paused and the current cap of 50 per cent will remain in place.
In addition to indoor spaces, face masks continue to be mandatory in the following locations:
- on public transport
- when riding in a ride share or taxi
- on domestic flights to and from Victoria
- at airports.
This means that:
- You must always carry a face mask with you when you leave home unless you have a lawful reason not to. There are a number of lawful reasons to not wear a face mask.
- Fitted face masks must be worn in public indoor spaces unless you have a lawful reason not to. Face masks continue to be mandatory on public transport and when in taxis or ride share vehicles.
- Wearing a face mask is strongly recommended when you can’t keep 1.5 metres distance from other people.
- You can have up to 15 visitors to your home per day. There is no limit on the number of households those people come from. Front and backyards are considered part of the home.
- Up to 100 people can meet outdoors in a public place. There is no limit on the number of households those people come from.
- Record keeping continues to be an important tool for helping Victoria to stay safe and stay open. Businesses that are required to record the details of visitors should use electronic record keeping or QR codes. The Victorian Government has a free QR code service.
- Restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs can open for seated and unseated service. They must use electronic record keeping and apply the two square metre rule to ensure that customers have enough room to keep 1.5 metres between themselves and others. There are no other limits on the number of customers. Venues can have up to 25 people before the two square metre rule needs to be applied.
- Weddings, funerals and religious gatherings can occur with no limits on the number of guests or attendees. To ensure people can keep 1.5 metres distance the venue must apply the two square metre rule. If a service is conducted in a private home, the private gathering limit applies (15 visitors).
- Dance floors can reopen in bars and pubs as well as at weddings. The four-square metre rule must be applied to limit the number of people on the dance floor and there can only be up to 50 people on the dancefloor at one time, if space allows.
- There are also changes to the number of people allowed at community facilities such as libraries, sporting facilities (such as gyms), and entertainment facilities (such as cinemas).
Summary of the changes COVIDSafe Summer
Victoria moved to COVIDSafe Summer restrictions from 11:59pm on Sunday 6 December 2020. The restrictions will be reviewed regularly to ensure they reflect current public health advice.
These changes reflect the need to give Victorians certainty about their summer, while protecting the trend of low cases that Victorians have worked so hard to achieve.
Everyone wants to get back to normal, but we also need to stay safe over the holiday and summer period, so we can stay open. You can help by getting tested if you feel unwell and following COVIDSafe practices. This is especially important as we see friends and family, celebrate together, travel together and move around Victoria and Australia during the summer. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is still present in Australia and we can all help to stop the spread.
