Coronavirus Australia live updates: Restrictions ease in Victoria - NEWS.com.au

But as Victorians embrace eased restrictions after months under a gruelling lockdown, some people are starting to survey the damage – and they aren’t too happy with the premier.

Victoria again recorded zero new cases and deaths yesterday – a stunning achievement for the state that was recording hundreds of cases a day in July.

According to a new YouGov poll, commissioned by the Herald Sun in the last week of October across 1241 people, 65 per cent of Victorians were happy with the way Mr Andrews had done his job while 32 per cent were unhappy with is performance.

Victorians were also asked if it was fair for Mr Andrews to be held responsbile for the state’s bungled hotel quarantine – that was found to be the source of its devastating second wave of coronavirus – with 55 per cent saying it was completely or mostly fair for the premier to be accountable.

Forty per cent said it was not fair for the premier to be held responsible.

Still on hotel quarantine, only 12 per cent of Victorians believed Mr Andrews had been completely honest about the failure while 38 per cent said they believed the premier had been mostly honest.

And if the state were to be hit by a third wave of coronavirus, 44 per cent of Victorians agreed the state should be locked down again while 45 per cent voted to stick with the reopening road map.

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Coronavirus has well and truly been squashed in Victoria – and the state will today celebrate with a further easing of restrictions.

Here are the restrictions that eased overnight:

The boundary between Melbourne and regional Victoria will come down with the 25km limit scrapped
The rules that currently apply to regional Victoria will apply to the whole state – wherever you live.
A maximum of two people can visit a home per day and don't need to be from the same household
Restaurants, pubs and cafes in Melbourne will be able to host up to 40 customers indoors and 70 outdoors
Gyms and indoor sporting facilities can open with up to 20 – subject to strict density limits
Indoor sport for those 18 and under can recommence
Indoor religious ceremonies will be increased to 20, with 50 allowed outside
The same numbers will apply to funerals, but there’s no change to weddings – for now
Community spaces like libraries or RSLs and neighbourhood houses can have up to 20 indoors, with groups of up to ten.
Accommodation will also reopen
Indoor entertainment venues will be able to open with 20 people per space – that means movie theatres, galleries, museums and music halls will now be able to open
The rules around visiting aged care and hospitals will also be relaxed – instead of a specific number of visitors, a household will be able to visit together. Once per day and limited to two hours
Those under 16 will also be able to visit hospitals. And the time limit for partners visiting maternity wards will no longer exist

From 22 November – and in line with the public health advice – Victoria is on track to reach the Last Step in its roadmap towards reopening.

Private gatherings will be able to increase to 10 people.

Gatherings for religious services, weddings and funerals will also increase too.

Hospitality venues will be able to have up to 100 indoors, 200 outside.

There’ll also be increases for other indoor venues like cinemas and gym and galleries.

Victoria has again recorded zero new cases and zero new coronavirus deaths.

The state only has four active cases remaining while NSW has more than 60.

Victoria has now seen 10 days of no coronavirus cases or deaths – a massive milestone for the state.

Yesterday there were 0 new cases and 0 lives lost reported. 10,653 test results were received. There are 4 active cases. There are 2 cases with unknown source. More info: https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/IQo6JcpPkL
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 8, 2020

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Victorians have seen more than a week of zero coronavirus cases and zero deaths – but the state's mask mandate will stay in place.

Victorians are required to wear masks outdoors despite the minimal risk of coronavirus transmission outside.

“At this stage I am not announcing any changes to masks,” Premier Dan Andrews told reporters yesterday.

“I don’t think it’s too much to ask and there are plenty of countries around the world that wish they had worn masks.”

When questioned why he was keeping the blanket mask rule, the premier said “simple rules are always best”.

Deakin University chair of epidemiology, Catherine Bennett, admitted to the Herald Sun she was "surprised" Victoria hadn't eased the mask rule.

“I’m surprised that we’ve still got masks for outdoors in areas where you keep your distance from other people,” she said.

“I would be saying to people in restaurants: keep your masks on unless you’re actually eating or drinking. But to not worry about that and to, on the other hand, say you must wear them even when you’re out walking on your own, to me, is confusing messaging.

“I do actually believe we want to keep masks for some time yet — indoors and on public transport.

“The Premier is holding out on this one but I would be very surprised if he didn’t ease masks in another two weeks."

ANU infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon said "I don’t really see why you have to wear a mask" if you're doing outdoor activities.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews received global praise for the way he managed to turn the state's deadly coronavirus second wave around.