Overview
When Wednesday, October 28 hits Melbourne, life in the Victorian capital will look rather different to the status quo for the past few months. With the city not only recording zero new COVID-19 cases for two days in a row, but slowly easing out of lockdown, Melburnians will be able to venture 25 kilometres out of the house for any reason, go to the newly reopened shops, have a drink at a bar or pub, and eat in at a restaurant — and, as announced today, Tuesday, October 27 by Premier Daniel Andrews, to visit someone else's house.
Yesterday, when he revealed the next stage of eased restrictions, Premier Daniel Andrews flagged that he'd announce details about in-home gatherings today. As part of his latest daily press conference, he's unveiled exactly where, when and how often Melburnians can head to a friend or family member's abode — and how many people can go along. In effect from 11.59pm tonight, the basic rule is that two adults from one household (and any dependents under the age of 18) can visit another household once a day. The reverse also applies, so you can only receive visitors from one other household each day as well.
The new requirements aren't considered a bubble, as Melburnians can visit different households each day — so you can go to your parents' place one day and your bestie's the next, for example. But every home and the people within it can only be involved in one 'visiting event', as Premier Andrews called it, per day, which is where it might seem a bit tricky.
Whether you're the one going to someone else's house or you're receiving visitors to your own home, that gathering is considered a 'visiting event'. And you're only allowed one each day — which again covers both heading out and having folks over. Everyone coming to your house at one time must be from the same household, too. Or if you're doing the visiting, you can only go to someone else's place with people from your own household.
"If you have somebody over to your house at, say, lunchtime, you can't visit another house that night," Premier Andrews explained. "So mum and dad and two children go and visit grandma and grandpa, they can be there provided they're within the 25 kilometres, they can be there for as long as they choose to be there, but once they leave, neither they can go and visit anybody else, nor can grandma and grandpa have other visitors to their home that day."
As the above example outlines, the 25-kilometre rule does still apply to home visits for as long as it is in place, with that restriction slated to be lifted on November 8. Premier Andrews did note, however, that the at-home gathering limits will still remain even after the next set of eased steps comes into effect early next month, but they'll be reviewed over time.
Explaining the new rule, the Premier advised that "your home is the most dangerous place for the spread of this virus" because it's where people put their guard down. Also, no one is being supervised; "not like a cafe, not like going to the pub where it's a licensed environment, people are keeping their distance, there's cleaning to that industrial standard, there's all of that formality".
Like hospitality venues, Melburnians are being asked to keep records of their visits — of who has been to their house and when — to help contract tracing if needed. As for what else is entailed, including for sharehouses, a full rundown will be made available on the Department of Health and Human Services website later today.
And if you're wondering whether these caps will be in place when Christmas rolls around (yes, it's almost that time of the year), Premier Andrews said he'll have more announcements on November 8 not only about the changes due to come into effect that day, but "about balance of November and what Christmas looks like".
For more information about the status of COVID-19 and the current restrictions, head over to the Department of Health and Human Services website — and for further details about Victoria's steps for reopening, head to the roadmap itself.