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Melbourne's lockdown to end as planned but some restrictions remain

Greater Melbourne's Covid-19 lockdown will be lifted at midnight on Thursday, Acting Premier James Merlino confirmed this morning.

"Victorians have done an amazing job following through the rules and getting tested," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"That is why today, on the advice of the Chief Health Officer, we can announce some significant steps."

Mr Merlino advised of several restrictions still in place in both Melbourne and regional Victoria.

The key changes to restrictions

Five million people in Melbourne will now be able to move 25km from their homes, instead of the 10km limit previously, he announced.

As confirmed on Tuesday, Melbourne residents will not be allowed to enter regional Victoria.

Acting James Merlino has eased restrictions for Melburnians. Source: Getty
Acting Premier James Merlino has eased restrictions for Melburnians. Source: Getty

The five reasons for leaving the home have been scrapped.

Visitors in the home will not be allowed, however gatherings outside are now limited to 10. Regional Victoria will be allowed two visitors in the home.

Funerals will be limited to 50 people, weddings will be limited to 10

Masks are still required in indoor public settings.

Schools will resume face-to-face learning from Friday.

Retail and hospitality will reopen, but with density limits. Cafes and restaurants can accomodate a maximum of 50 people inside. Patrons must be seated.

“We are making some big steps today, this is a good day,” Mr Merlino said.

He said the state is on course to remove the travel restrictions to regional Victoria next week.

Gyms and nightclubs will remain shut for now.

"I understand the pain for those gym owners... but at this juncture, closure is the appropriate measure," Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said.

Mr Merlino said he expected gyms open by Thursday next week.

Plea to Victorians during 'critical' two weeks

Professor Sutton warned the state was not yet "back to normal" and said it would be "critical" to ensure people came forward for testing over the next two weeks.

“We still have some days to go," he said.

Prof Sutton said it would be "absolutely fantastic" if the state continued reporting more than 25,000 daily tests a day.

He said it was possible undetected and potentially unlinked cases were still in the community.

On Wednesday Victoria recorded just one local Covid-19 case, which was linked to one of the existing clusters. It is not of the Delta variant.

Melbourne's latest lockdown will have lasted 14 days.

Exposure sites across the state have fallen to below 200.

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