Melbourne’s pubs, clubs and entertainment venues can allow up to 20 fully vaccinated people indoors, and 50 fully vaccinated people outdoors.

It’s been announced the Melbourne’s lockdown will end on Friday the 22nd of October. The news came from Victorian premier Daniel Andrews and comes as a result of the Australian state reaching a 70% vaccination rate.

The end of the lockdown means that people can once again move freely around the city of Melbourne, but there will still be restrictions that prevent residents of Melbourne from travelling to other parts of Victoria. Hospitality businesses will be allowed to reopen, and students in Melbourne will be able to attend classroom lessons part-time.

In other parts of Victoria, all students can return to the classroom full time, and there are other relaxed rules in the state that don’t currently apply to Melbourne.

Talking specifically about Melbourne and its surrounding city regions, there is no more curfew, homes can have up to 10 non-resident visitors a day, and groups of 15 can meet outdoors.

It’s a bittersweet pill for clubs, pubs and other entertainment venues, as although they can legally open for people who are fully vaccinated, there are still tight restrictions on maximum capacity. Only 20 fully vaccinated people can be indoors, and 50 fully vaccinated people outdoors, which isn’t great news for music venues and nightclubs planning to host indoor events.

Outdoor events are a little more viable and intimate parties with 50 people could be fun, but there would be questions about whether venues could afford to profitably open when limited to such low numbers.

Restrictions will be reviewed/relaxed again when the state of Victoria has 80% of its residents fully vaccinated, and it’s predicted that that will happen in early November.

For more information, you can see Victoria’s roadmap for reopening here.