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States And Territories Announce Some Social Distancing Rules Will Be Relaxed

States And Territories Announce Some Social Distancing Rules Will Be Relaxed

Non-essential public gatherings will be allowed in some places as residents receive hope that self-isolation will soon be over

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Some Australian states and territories have announced they will be relaxing social distancing rules after promising signs that we've flattened the curve.

Western Australia was the first to ease measures, which have kicked in today.

People in the western state will be allowed to have non-essential public gatherings of up to 10 people.

That means residents can have picnics, hop on boats, go for a hike or go camping, as well as participate in group exercise. Couples will be thrilled they can now have more people at their wedding ceremony after they were restricted to just five people.

PA

Premier Mark McGowan has warned that people shouldn't take this for granted and push the boundaries.

He said: "Our numbers may be low, but we need to keep it that way.

"The economic impact of these restrictions has been devastating, our economic situation remains dire.

"The state government together with the federal government, continues to do what we can to help us get to the other side of this pandemic.

"When this all started, we said Covid-19 was going to be like a war, a war we have never seen before, and Western Australia and Western Australians have risen to the challenge and we must stay focused."

Queensland has also announced an easing of some restrictions from Friday after seeing a drop in the number of new cases of the coronavirus.

PA

While state borders will be remain closed, Queenslanders will be able to go on a family picnics or go for a weekend drive, however they aren't allowed to travel more than 50kms from their homes. People can shop for non-essential items and national parks will be allowed to reopen from Saturday.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told Channel 9: "We recognise that Queenslanders have done a great job in trying to flatten that curve.

"What we're asking for people to do is continue with social distancing. That's number one. Secondly it has to be your own household or if you are living by yourself with a friend.

"We're really asking people to do the right thing here."

Residents in the Northern Territory have been excited after the government announced parks and reserves would reopen. Chief Minister Michael Gunner hinted that cafes, pubs and gyms would be able to open their doors around June.

He said a proper meeting will take place this Thursday to determine the NT's way out of the pandemic.

"Essentially the new normal will be in place during June," he said. "There will be a lot of work between now and Thursday.

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"I'll be able to catch up with the Chamber of Commerce today to talk about these things ... about what is a practical set of time frames but we're aiming towards people in the Territory going to live the new normal in June."

An official announcement hasn't been made about Victoria's social distancing rules, however the state of emergency ruling is set to expire on May 11.

Stay at Home orders could be lifted from then if the state continues to see a drop in new cases.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has been pleased to see new infections fall over the past few weeks: "They prove that our physical distancing measures are working but this is not a time to relax our strong approach - this disease can get away from you very quickly as we have seen in cities overseas."

New South Wales hasn't indicated when rules could be relaxed, however schools have been allowed to welcome back students for Term 2.

Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT are also yet to make any announcements on their social distancing rules, but fingers crossed the road out isn't too far away.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Australia