Daniel Andrews Is Looking At Easing Restrictions In Melbourne Earlier Than Thought

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has revealed he might roll back restrictions in Melbourne earlier than thought.

Victoria has recorded just 15 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours and it has sparked hope that residents could soon be free.

When asked at his daily press briefing whether he thought the restrictions could be eased sooner, he replied: "Yes, I am."

Metropolitan Melbourne's two week rolling average of new cases is now at 29.4.

The city needed to keep the number between 30-50 to ensure restrictions could roll into the next phase. Now that it's officially below 30, we could be seeing some of the rules relaxed ever so slightly.

Premier Andrews wouldn't be drawn on what rules that would be but confirmed that he was definitely considering it.

He told reporters: I'm not in a position give you the full list of what we're looking at. We don't want to do something that might seem quite small but could present a significant challenge to us in a couple of weeks' time.

"That's part of the nature of this virus."

"I can't give you a list of all the things we're looking at because a lot of them are nowhere near settled. It's all about modelling. The numbers are coming down, the trend is positive and that's a credit to everybody who has helped to deliver this outcome."

If Melbourne were to move into Step 2, people would be allowed to gather outside in groups of up to five, however only a maximum of two households would be permitted. Kids would also be allowed to return to face-to-face learning.

Sadly though, the dreaded nighttime curfew and the travel radius restricting people to go no further than 5kms from their home would stay.

People would also still be restricted to leaving their home for only one of the four listed reasons. While that might be devastating, Premier Andrews wants the city to being the best possible place before he opens things up more.

For those who haven't been able to see their nearby mates, moving to Step 2 will be an absolute godsend.

Topics: News, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie