SEVEN-day isolation for COVID-19 close contacts, compulsory masks for primary school students and the vaccine mandate for hospitality venues will be scrapped in Victoria.<\/p>\n
This morning, Health Minister Martin Foley announced a raft of restrictions would ease from 11.59pm this Friday, 22 April after the state passed the peak of its second Omicron wave.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Omicron wave is starting to subside\u2026 that\u2019s why we\u2019re in the position of being able to take some important steps over the coming days,\u201d he told reporters today.<\/p>\n
Close contacts of confirmed cases will no longer have to quarantine provided they wear a mask indoors and avoid sensitive settings. They must also return five negative rapid antigen tests over the seven-day period.<\/p>\n
Similar changes are being unveiled by the NSW government.<\/p>\n
Business groups have been calling for the seven-day isolation rule for household contacts of confirmed cases to be relaxed to ease ongoing staff shortages.<\/p>\n
However, the Victorian government repeatedly flagged it would not move to wind back restrictions until the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant wave began to subside.<\/p>\n
Victoria\u2019s new pandemic-specific legislation shifted the power or changing COVID-19 restrictions from Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, to Mr Foley.<\/p>\n
Premier Daniel Andrews previously flagged the state\u2019s vaccinated economy, which includes a two-dose policy for patrons at hospitality venues, could remain in place until 2023.<\/p>\n
Victoria\u2019s seven-day case average remains below 10,000, despite the state recording 10,628 new COVID-19 cases and 14 deaths today.<\/p>\n
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