Tara Murray
The end of lockdown is now within sight for Brimbank residents and the broader Melbourne area.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Sunday that lockdown would end at 11.59 pm on Thursday night, when 70 per cent of eligible Victorians are expected to be full vaccinated.
The changes announced by Mr Andrews went further than expected, bringing some much welcome news for everyone.
The five reasons to leave home are no longer applicable.
The 15-kilometre travel radius is gone, with Melbournians able to travel throughout all of metropolitan Melbourne.
Under the original plan, it had been set down that the radius would have extended to 25 kilometres.
Restaurants can open for a limited number of indoor and outdoor patrons, while the return to school plan had been brought forward.
The biggest chance was the announcement that people can now visit other people’s homes. This was not expected until the 80 per cent double dose threshold was met.
Up to 10 people (including dependents) per day will be able to visit homes in both regional and metropolitan Melbourne.
It is highly recommended that people over the age of 12 be fully vaccinated before visiting homes.
Other changes include childcare, Religious gatherings, weddings and funerals and construction sites.
It’s expected that more restrictions will be eased either at the end of the month or early November.
The announcement comes despite the number of people catching COVID-19 still relatively high.
On Sunday there were 1838 cases and seven deaths. Case numbers were slightly down on the previous few days.
In Brimbank, there were 102 cases, which was down from 181 on Saturday. The Saturday figure was second highest in the state that day.
There are currently exposure sites in Cairnlea, Deer Park and Ravenhall according to the official Department of Health site.
