PM introduces stages of eased coronavirus restrictions
Blayne Treadgold
Friday 8 May 2020
2:00pm
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a three-stage roadmap to easing coronavirus restrictions this morning.
Following a national cabinet meeting, Mr Morrison said he was hopeful that a majority of the country will be open by July, although conceding states could move at different speeds.
“Today, we have put Australia in a position to go forward,” the Prime Minister said at a press conference this afternoon.
“We have strengthened our health system and put the protections in place.”
“With that work being done, today’s national cabinet agreed on a three-step plan and a national framework to achieve a COVID safe economy and society,” Mr Morrison said.
“It is our goal to move through all of these steps to achieve that COVID-safe economy in July of this year.”
Australian Government
The Stages
Stage one will include eased restrictions in the way cafes and restaurants operate as well as the easing of restrictions in the way people meet such as playgrounds, libraries, community centres and outdoor fitness groups with numbers allowed at weddings and funerals also being somewhat relaxed.
Stage two will allow gatherings of up to 20 people with selective interstate travel also being considered to resume. Funerals will also be able to go ahead in increased numbers.
The final stage is set to bring a sense of normality to back to many Australian lives with gatherings permitted of up to 100 people allowing for food courts, pubs, nightclubs to operate under cautious conditions in addition to many places of work, officials are also hopeful of the resumption of all interstate travel by this stage.
Following each stage, health experts are set to monitor a ‘cool off’ period with the national cabinet set to meet every three weeks to review the progression of the stages.
For all official information and updates please see https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert#current-status
