Lockdown to end from Friday

Colac and district’s lockdown will end from midnight tomorrow night, with businesses and schools able to partially reopen on Friday.

Premier Daniel Andrews today announced a host of changes to take effect later this week, and said the current rules would remain until the end of September.

Kindergarten and childcare services will reopen from Friday, as will schools for Prep, Grade One, Grade Two and VCE students – with the remainder of schoolkids to continue remote learning.

Businesses including retail, beauty services and accommodation can reopen with strict density limits, while offices can also welcome back staff in small numbers. Hospitality businesses can resume sit-down service, but with a maximum of 10 people inside and 20 outside.

There’s also no longer a travel limit or restrictions of leaving home for local residents, though travel to locked-down areas in Melbourne and Shepparton remain banned except for essential reasons. Masks also remain mandatory outside the home.

But hopes for community sport were not answered, with clubs able to resume training but not games under the new rules. Indoor sport, including gyms, remain closed.

The State Government said the changes were a “safe first step” out of restrictions and encouraged regional Victorians to continue getting vaccinated so rules could ease further next week.

Stay tuned online and in Friday’s Colac Herald for more details of the new rules.