Victoria to relax pandemic restrictions in areas

Authorities in Victoria state said they will relax pandemic restrictions in regional areas from Wednesday night. State Premier Daniel Andrews said people who live outside the capital, Melbourne, would have no restrictions on leaving their homes from 11:59 p.m. and all shops will be able to reopen. People are not allowed to leave Melbourne without approved reasons and police would tighten checkpoints on routes from Melbourne while the rest of the state opens up.

A second lockdown was declared across the state in early August, but the strategy is working and restrictions in Melbourne are on track to be relaxed within a few weeks. The 14-day case average for Melbourne also dropped to 49.6 on Wednesday. State Health Minister also announced that non-urgent elective surgery in the state would resume from Thursday.