Return to your workplace encouraged

With winter behind us and COVID cases numbers continuing to drop, the State Government has encouraged Victorians to return to their physical workplaces safely.

Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas announced the lifting of work from home recommendations on 1 September, allowing more Victorians to return to work, providing a boost to recovering businesses across the state.

The move is in line with the current public health recommendations, which recommended that during the peak periods of COVID transmission in July and August, people worked from home when practical to do so.

With fourth dose vaccinations now available, more antiviral options, and active case numbers dropping from a peak of 71,428 – to 15,024 at the time of the announcement, down to 11,815 at the time of writing – the call was made that lifting the work from home recommendations would be timely.

“With spring now here and case numbers and hospitalisations declining significantly, more people may want to get back into the office – and back out to the cafes, shops and bars in busy professional precincts across the state,” Ms Thomas said.

“Lifting the work from home recommendation is in line with current public health advice – we encourage employers and employees to have a conversation about what’s right for their individual needs.”

The news was welcomed by the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as businesses gradually begin to recover from the pandemic.

“This is a positive step that clears the way for Victorians to safely return to the office now that winter is over, and the COVID-19 peak has passed. It will also provide a welcome boost for Melbourne’s CBD and regional cities as we head into spring,”  Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive, Paul Guerra, said.

“This will give Victorians confidence to embrace both business and social opportunities again. We strongly encourage businesses to have the conversation with their staff and make appropriate arrangements.”

Employers and staff can still consider remote working arrangements that are most appropriate for their workplace and employees, based on individual requirements.

To help keep their employees safe, businesses or organisations with on-site operations (including home-based businesses) need to have a COVIDSafe Plan which is regularly reviewed to ensure it’s as up to date as possible.

Even when there are lower case numbers, it is always important that any employee who has COVID symptoms does a test and stays home.

To reflect the evolving nature of the pandemic, the Department of Health will no longer publish a daily media update from the Chief Health Officer – moving to a weekly update from 7 September. Daily COVID data will continue to be published on Twitter and on the Department of Health website.