Venues will be required to abide by extensive conditions in order to partially re-open.
Premier Dan Andrews has announced the next steps for easing social distancing restrictions in Victoria, with cafes, restaurants and pubs allowed to offer dine-in services from June 1.
The first phase of reopening Victoria’s pubs, cafes and restaurants will see venues allowing customers to dine in, provided there are no more than 20 patrons in the venue at one time and social distancing measures of one person per four square metres is in place.
While the new rules do encompass pubs, Andrews has made it clear that this will not mean you can go grab some beers with your mates at the bar. Public bars will remain closed, though pubs which serve food will allow customers to order drinks with their meals.
Venues will also be required to take customers’ contact details to allow for tracing, if need be.
As of June 22, Andrews hopes to ease the restrictions further so that 50 patrons are allowed within a venue at any one time, with the goal of 100 customers set for late July.
“Just to be clear: the timeline will be entirely dependent on how we’re tracking with case numbers, and how well everyone sticks to the rules and does the right thing,” said Andrews in a statement.
“Our ongoing testing blitz is giving us cause for cautious optimism – and given Victoria’s Chief Health Officer the confidence to make some changes.
“But if we see a sudden upswing in cases or breaches of the rules, we’ll have to review and potentially retighten restrictions.”
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