Victoria scraps mandates for workers

From next Friday, the state government’s booster mandate for education, food distribution, meat and seafood processing, and quarantine accommodation employees will be dropped. Vaccination policies will then be the responsibility of individual workplaces.Workers who interact with vulnerable Australians, such as those in healthcare or emergency service jobs, will still be required to have three shots.Rules requiring general employees to work from home unless they are double-vaccinated will also be lifted.Victorians who have tested positive for Covid-19 will also be able to leave the house to drive a household member directly to or from work or school. But they won’t be able to physically leave the car.Mask mandates will also be removed in the state’s airport terminals. But masks will continue to be required on domestic flights, public transport, taxis and ride shares, in addition to hospitals and care facilities. Residents in aged care and disability facilities will also be able to see more visitors (as long as they test negative on a rapid antigen test), with caps to be lifted. Visitor caps at residential aged care and disability facilities will also be lifted. The isolation period for those Covid-positive remains at seven days. Health Minister Martin Foley said the changes, due to come into effect at 11.59pm on June 24, were sensible and modest. “These orders mean we can keep in place sensible settings to reduce case numbers and hospitalisations through winter, when the risk of transmission is highest, while allowing Victorians to live safely with Covid-19,” he said. “Modest changes to our public health measures will keep Victorians protected as we continue to safely lift mandates and support businesses and individuals to begin to manage their own Covid-19 risk.”