Melbourne: More restrictions in Victoria, the worst-hit Australian state by the pandemic, were eased on Monday as it has remained case-free for more than three weeks.
Victoria, the epicentre of the country’s second wave of the pandemic recorded its 24th straight day of zero new Covid-19 cases and deaths on Monday, with only one active case left,, reports Xinhua news agency.
“Three months ago, Victoria had 4,293 active cases. Today we have one,” state Premier Daniel Andrews said while announcing a series of changes on Sunday.
“It’s an incredible achievement. Back then, the goal was something a little more ‘normal’ for Christmas. Today, because of the efforts of every Victorian, that’s exactly what we’ve been able to achieve,” he said in a statement.
From Monday, Victoria residents will be able to host up to 15 visitors to their homes per day and the limit on outdoor gatherings eased to allow 50 people.
Restaurants, cafes, bars will now be allowed to host up to 300 patrons, including a maximum of 150 people indoors as long as the four-square-meter-rule is maintained.
Weddings, funerals and indoor religious ceremonies also had their attendance caps increased to 150 people, as did cinemas, galleries and museums.
Community sports resumed, and wearing masks was no longer mandatory outside if physically distancing can be maintained.
Andrews said the state’s residents will be able to have up to 30 visitors to their home per day from December 13, and 25 per cent of staff will return to workplaces from November 30.
Also from Monday, Victorians can travel freely to the state of New South Wales (NSW) without quarantine, for the first time in more than four months.
NSW, which recorded no new locally acquired Covid-19 cases for the 16th day in a row on Monday, however, was however still in a feud with the neighbouring state of Queensland over border lockdown rules.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged her Queensland counterpart to show compassion as Christmas is around the corner.
“So again I just ask other premiers to consider some compassion because I know when I’m visiting communities and people come up to me and burst into tears when they think about the fact that they can’t visit their relatives,” she said.
Nevertheless, a couple of restrictions were lifted within NSW from Monday.
Up to 3,000 people were allowed to gather for outdoor ticketed events such as concerts. Berejiklian said further easing of restrictions was imminent this week.
Australia has so far confirmed 27,821 coronavirus cases and 907 deaths.
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.