Victorian businesses will be permitted to have 75 per cent of their staff in workplaces from next Monday.
Key points:
- Victoria has recorded 27 consecutive days with no community transmission
- Offices are currently restricted to 50 per cent capacity in the private sector and 25 per cent in the public sector
- The Victorian Government wants to extend the state of emergency for another nine months
Victoria has recorded 27 days in a row of no locally acquired cases.
One case has been identified in hotel quarantine.
Premier Daniel Andrews said public health officials were confident it was safe enough for public and private sector businesses to increase the number of workers in offices.
"Firstly, given 27 days of zero cases, which of course if we can get one more day that’ll be two lots of 28 that we’ve had over recent months," he said.
"That’s something that no other jurisdiction in the world has done, particularly after a second wave, and should be a point of pride for every single Victorian."
Currently, private businesses are permitted to have 50 per cent of staff in offices, and public sector offices are restricted to 25 per cent capacity.
The Premier conceded not every workplace would return to the maximum level allowed, but that "a lot of large businesses" might send 50 per cent of their workers back into offices.
"And what that means is that's more people buying coffee, more people buying lunch, more people going out to restaurants and bars. All of those things, which is all about jobs," he said.
Mr Andrews said he hoped to see an eventual return to 100 per cent capacity in workplaces, but did not foreshadow when that might be allowed.
LoadingBill put forward to extend Victoria's state of emergency
Mr Andrews said the Government would introduce fresh laws to extend the state of emergency in Victoria for nine more months, in one-month segments.
"We will put a bill in Parliament today to extend the state of emergency, in recognition that this is far from over, and whilst the vaccine, there's been significant developments, that will not be administered to sufficient numbers of people in a matter of weeks, it’s going to take a long time," Mr Andrews said.
He said there would be "normal good faith negotiations" with the Parliament on the contents of the bill.
The Victorian Government's previous bill to extend the state of emergency was labelled "a power grab" and overreach" by some Opposition MPs.
Mr Andrews said the new extension was about "locking in and having legal certainty" for measures like hotel quarantine, mask wearing and compelling people to isolate or quarantine.
"This is not a particularly contentious matter, there is a clear need for us to have rules," he said.
"I would very much hope that no-one sought to play politics with this. This is simply a recognition that it's not over."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTAyLTAyL3ZpY3Rvcmlhbi1vZmZpY2VzLXJldHVybi10by03NS1wZXItY2VudC1jYXBhY2l0eS1uby1jb3ZpZC1jYXNlcy8xMzExMTc1MNIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMzExMTc1MA?oc=5
2021-02-01 22:19:00Z
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