Overview
Melbourne has been back under lockdown for almost a month and a half now, but when 11.59pm hits on Friday, September 17, a things are changing. The stay-at-home conditions will remain in place; however, Melburnians will be able to venture further away from home — and go out for outdoor social gatherings.
Instead of only being permitted to exercise or shop for essentials within five kilometres of your house, as has been the case so far, you'll now be able to double that distance. You'll also be allowed to head out within that ten-kilometre radius to meet with someone you don't live with for a picnic, a walk or some other outdoor activity. Or, if you and your friends are fully vaxxed with both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, then up to five adults from two households, plus their dependents, will be permitted to gather outdoors.
So, if you're currently scrambling to find quick ways to map out your ten-kilometre zone, that's completely understandable. While you're probably quite familiar with the five-kilometre patch of land surrounding your house thanks to more than a few lockdowns over the past 18 months or so, there are a few easy ways to check out your household's government-approved travel radius now that you have more room to play with. But none have proved quite as popular as KM From Home — a website that originally launched in Ireland back in March, when that country introduced its own travel restrictions — and was jumped on by Melburnians back in August 2020.
The online map is free and easy to use — simply centre it to your address, select a ten-kilometre radius and you'll see a big red or blue bubble encompassing the zone you're free to travel in under the Victorian Government's new rules.
You'll find other radius apps out there as well, including the likes of Map Developers and The Age's tool.
Alternatively, if you've got a Garmin watch, you can download this range warning and it'll alert you when you're closing in on a certain distance from your run's starting point.
Want to check a specific cafe or shopping centre to see if it falls in your ten-kilometre zone? There's a function on the Google Maps app that allows you to measure a distance as the crow flies. On desktop, simply right click on a location on the map, select 'measure distance' and then click anywhere else on the map and it'll show you exactly how far the address is from your starting point.
Under the new rules, you can head out to exercise or for outdoor social gatherings for a maximum of four hours per day. And this must all be done within ten kilometres of your home, of course.
You can leave your bubble for permitted work, or if you're shopping for essentials and there are no shops in your radius.
Lockdown rules in metropolitan Melbourne will ease slightly from 11.59pm on Friday, September 17, with exercising, shopping for essentials and outdoor gatherings within ten kilometres of your house permitted from that point. For more information about the rules, head to the Victorian Department of Health website.
Images: Km From Home