Lockdown restrictions will be eased in metropolitan Melbourne from 11.59pm tonight. Retail can reopen with density limits of one person per four square metres. A number of restrictions will remain in place until at least until 11.59pm, Thursday June 17 before further easing.
Victorian retailers have lost an estimated $2 billion over a 14-day period following the state being plunged into its fourth lockdown since the pandemic began.
The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed news that common-sense has prevailed and that Melbourne retailers will again be open for business from this Friday.
NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said that businesses across Australia’s second-largest state will be breathing a deep sigh of relief.
“COVID has wreaked havoc across Australia and the world, but Victoria has been dealt a particularly brutal blow,” Lamb said. “Not only has it been the state’s fourth lockdown, but Victorian businesses have had to navigate this one without the JobKeeper safety net.
Lamb also urged Victorian consumers to support local retailers while also abiding with all safety protocols. “We urge shoppers to make a conscious effort to support retailers across Victoria once restrictions are formally lifted,” Lamb said.
“Throughout the pandemic retailers have demonstrated an impeccable ability to enforce and maintain the highest possible safety protocols. Shoppers have nothing to fear by visiting the shops once Victoria comes out of lockdown on Friday.”
Most of the same settings currently in place in regional Victoria will now apply to metropolitan Melbourne. The five reasons to leave home will no longer apply.
The existing 10km limit will be extended to 25km, however travel into regional Victoria will not be allowed.
Masks will no longer be required outdoors, unless 1.5m physical distancing cannot be maintained.
The Victorian Government is considering enforcing QR Code check-ins for all indoor settings in the weeks to come, and will be consulting with industry on implementation.
