Victoria has recorded 1273 new Covid-19 cases and eight deaths as the state enters a new phase of the pandemic with fewer restrictions.
People in a Melbourne department store last month as the city lifts restrictions. Photo: AFP
There are now 13,813 active cases of the virus in Victoria, and 453 people have died during the state's current Delta outbreak.
With Victoria expected to reach its target to fully vaccinate at least 90 percent of the population aged 12 years and over this weekend, most restrictions were lifted last night.
There are no longer density limits at hospitality venues, restrictions on home visits have been removed, and masks are no longer required in most settings.
Unvaccinated people will no longer be allowed into non-essential retail stores, including clothing, toy and book shops, as well as businesses such as hairdressers, real estate inspections or auctions.
Fleur Brown from the Australian Retailers Association said retailers needed clarity over the roadmap with the festive season approaching, and asked for leniency over vaccine checks for customers.
"We think there's room for improvement when it comes to understanding the needs of retailers by the Victorian government," she said.
"This suggests a lack of empathy for what retailers have to go through with staff rosters and staff training in order to put this kind of protocol in place."
The Victorian opposition has also criticised new Covid-19 rules for retailers, with Shadow Small Business spokesman David Southwick saying some traders couldn't afford to employ Covid marshals.
"To now ask these retailers to do all these additional things when it is make-or-break-it time for these small businesses is really unfair," Southwick said.
There are 330 people in hospital with Covid-19, of whom 57 are in intensive care and 30 are on a ventilator.
The health department said a further 58 people were in intensive care but their Covid-19 infections were no longer considered active.
The new cases were detected from 73,020 test results received yesterday.
There were 5842 doses of vaccine administered at state-run sites yesterday, and more vaccinations at GP clinics and other venues.
Victoria has now fully vaccinated more than 88 percent of its population aged 12 and up.
Other states
New South Wales has recorded 216 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths in the 24 hour reporting period to 8pm last night. The state now has 91.5 percent of people over the age of 16 fully vaccinated.
The ACT has recorded 17 new local cases of Covid-19 with 97 percent of those living in the state and over the age of 12 now fully vaccinated.
There were no new local cases of Covid-19 recorded in Queensland.
Debate to resume on pandemic bill
The Andrews government has spent the night negotiating with crossbench MPs as it tries to secure another vote on its pandemic legislation.
The pandemic bill was set to fail after former Minister Adem Somyurek revealed he would return to parliament to vote against it.
Yesterday, the government adjourned debate as it tried to find more support.
The ABC understands the government has had a number of constructive conversations with crossbench MPs as it scrambles to get that extra crucial vote needed for the bill to pass.
Meanwhile, the Law Institute of Victoria's Tania Wolff said more independent oversight and scrutiny of the powers was needed in the proposed legislation.
"There's been commentary from a whole range of legal bodies that one can't just label as fringe or extremist," she said.
"These are people who care deeply about society, but they're concerned about some aspects of this bill."
Debate on the laws is expected to resume in the Upper House today.
- ABC
