Victorians Are Once Again Required to Wear Face Masks in Indoor Settings

In response to Melbourne's latest COVID-19 cases, the Victorian Government has changed the state's mask rules to bring back mandatory face coverings inside. As announced last night, on Wednesday, July 14, wearing masks indoors became compulsory again at 11.59am — so, Victorians, you've just woken up to the new requirement.

Accordingly, face masks are now compulsory inside for all Victorians — not just residents of Melbourne — over the age of 12. The rule applies in all indoor settings that aren't your own home, including all workplaces. Also, if you're outside, you need to wear a mask if you cannot maintain a 1.5-metre distance from folks who aren't from your own household.

These requirements are all very familiar, given that the mask rules only started loosening again over the past month — following Melbourne's two-week lockdown in late May and early June. In fact, people have only been able to go maskless in indoor workplaces that don't face a public-facing component for the last week, and have only been able to ditch face coverings outdoors if you can social distance since mid-June.

At present, new cases linked to Sydney's current cluster and lockdown have popped up in Melbourne, which is why the mask mandate has come back into effect. Yes, that means that the city's exposure sites list is growing again, too.

As always, Melburnians can keep an eye on the local list of exposure sites at the Department of Health website — it will keep being updated if and when more sites are identified.

For those looking to get tested, you can find a list of testing sites including regularly updated waiting times also on the Department of Health website.

And, has remained the case throughout the pandemic, Melburnians should be looking out for coughs, fever, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, or loss of smell or taste, symptoms-wise.

Plus, if you're wondering where to grab a fitted mask, we've put together a rundown of local companies making and selling them.