Melbourne residents are still told not to leave the city without a valid reason.

Dan Andrews is Premier of Australia’s Victoria region, and he has announced a regional lifting of lockdown restrictions inside the state. Those areas permitted to reopen can do so from 11:59pm on the 9th of August.

Although this is good news for many people, Melbourne is one of the region’s main cities, and that area will remain closed until further notice.

The announcement comes after Victoria recently recorded only 11 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases. Those cases have all been traced back to known outbreaks, but only one of the infected individual’s was in quarantine at the point of their diagnosis.

People living in Victoria can only travel to Melbourne for a permitted reason, and must follow Melbourne restrictions when in the city area. For those living in places where restrictions have been lifted, they can travel without a limit on distance, provided they avoid lockdown areas.

Premier Daniel Andrews stated that there have been no new coronavirus cases in regional Victoria, and thousands of primary close contacts have been cleared from the regions over the last few weeks.

Importantly, private gatherings in all of Victoria are still not permitted, but outdoor gatherings in public spaces can occur with up to 10 people, and face masks will remain mandatory indoors and outdoors.

Melbourne residents have been told they must not travel anywhere without a justified cause, as Daniel Andrews said: “No one from Melbourne should be going to the regions unless they have a valid reason.”

People from regional Victoria may travel through Melbourne to get to another part of the region, but residents are urged to use their judgement when doing so.

Some of the things that can now open or go ahead in Victoria provided they have the relevant restrictions in place are schools, weddings, community sport, retail, food & hospitality, and outdoor entertainment venues with a maximum capacity of 300 people.

You can view the premier’s full announcement HERE.