As Victoria celebrates more than two weeks Covid-free, Premier Daniel Andrews announces that masks will no longer be required when socially distancing outdoors.
While masks will remain necessary in closed spaces and when mingling with people outside of one’s personal contacts, the change may come into effect at midnight next Sunday 22 November as part of a final step towards ‘Covid-normal’.
If Victoria continues to record no new cases of coronavirus and no further deaths we will see changes that will include a significant increase in household gatherings, the number allowed inside gyms, pubs and restaurants, the reintroduction of crowds at sports stadiums and the resumption of weddings with up to 100 people.
At the moment there are only three active cases across the entire state and none of them are mystery cases.
Mr Andrews also said that said that a testing blitz across former hot spot suburbs in Melbourne’s north and west is set to kick off on Sunday.
Residents will be encouraged to get tested even if they don’t have symptoms. Five testing sites have been set up across Hume and Wyndham in a bid to identify any infections in the community.
Finally, the Premier said that he doesn’t expect the state’s run of zero cases to last, but the current numbers give confidence that future outbreaks could be contained swiftly.
“As many zero days or low number days that we can get – it’s not full proof, it’s no guarantee – but it just means that any positive cases or outbreaks that come in the future, it’s off that very, very low base.”
“The area we will move first will be when people are out on their own or are well away from others,” he said.
“It will always be a situation where you carry the mask and if for some unexpected reason you would come into contact with others, you would wear that mask.”
