Victoria is racing towards its next vaccine milestone, with 73 per cent of those aged 16 and over fully vaccinated as of Sunday.

Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed that a further easing of restrictions is not far away, with the state expected to hit its 80 per cent full vaccination target earlier than anticipated.

From 6pm on Friday 29 October, metropolitan Melbourne will move to the same level of restrictions with regional Victoria.

“We will flick the switch and we will move to 80%, whether we have ticked over the 80% settings, we will definitely do that over the course of the weekend, whether it is Friday, Saturday or Sunday, it depends which data expert you talk to, but from 6pm on Friday, the 80% settings, so, one set of rules that covers the entire state,” he said.

This means Victorians will be able to travel freely within the state.

Beyond the return of statewide travel, under the new settings caps in venues will be replaced by density quotients, gyms, entertainment and retail will reopen and masks outdoors will be scrapped when social distancing is possible.

“Venues will continue to lock out unvaccinated people, unless they have a medical exemption, with proof of vaccination needed to access most settings,” Mr Andrews noted.

‘Massive change’ in rules at 90%

The Victorian Premier also unveiled the ‘very few rules’ that will apply once the state reaches its 90 per cent double dose vaccination milestone, expected as early as Wednesday 24 November,

“We asked you to get vaccinated. You have done that in record time and record numbers. And that means we have to open the place up and we have to have a series of rules, we have to have settings, that are the lightest touch possible, the simplest, the most easily understood, that are as close to normal life as possible.”

At 90 per cent, there will be “a fundamental change, a massive change, in many respects, to the rules that we have all been living under,” he said.

These include no caps or density quotients in venues and masks required only in high-risk indoor settings

But venues will continue to only accept double-vaccinated patrons, as part of the “vaccinated economy” he said.
More than 39,000 vaccine doses were administered at state-run hubs on Saturday. Victoria recorded 1,935 new local coronavirus cases and 11 deaths on the third day after exiting lockdown.

Currently, there are 787 coronavirus patients hospitalised, with 146 in ICU and 93 of them on ventilators.