Covid-19
Most COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria will be removed from 11.59pm, Friday 22 April.
A number of critical and common-sense settings will be retained, including the essential requirement to isolate for seven days following a COVID-19 diagnosis and existing two-dose and three-dose vaccination mandates for workers.
Visitor restrictions in care facilities will be retained with up to five visitors per day if each show a negative rapid antigen test result or two visitors if no test results are provided.
Face coverings will still be required on public transport and at airports – excluding airport workers who aren’t public facing – and in sensitive health, aged care and justice settings. All workplaces will still require a COVIDSafe Plan.
Many rules which are no longer required will be recommended, including working from home if you're a close contact exempt from quarantine. Masks are strongly recommended when you can’t physically distance.
Changes to pandemic orders from 11.59pm, Friday 22 April:
- Vaccination requirements to enter a venue removed
- Check-in using the Service Victoria app will end
- Masks will no longer be required in primary schools, early childhood, hospitality and retail settings, or at events of any size
- Close contacts will no longer have to quarantine – provided they wear a mask indoors and avoid sensitive settings. They will also need to undertake at least five negative rapid tests over the seven days that would previously have been the self-quarantine period
- All visitor restrictions in hospitals will be removed except for mask requirements, with health services able to tailor their own settings based on their own circumstances
- Events with more than 30,000 people will no longer require public health pre-approval
- International travellers who are symptom-free will be recommended but not required to get a PCR or rapid test on arrival, and unvaccinated travellers will no longer complete 7 days’ quarantine
- People are exempt from testing or quarantine for 12 weeks if they’ve had COVID-19 – up from 8 weeks
- Individuals will be required to notify their workplace contacts, in addition to informing their social contacts. Workplaces won’t have to individually identify and notify each potentially exposed worker
Victoria continues to monitor epidemiological conditions and work with other jurisdictions and to ensure COVID settings are aligned. See more information at coronavirus.vic.gov.au