At a press conference on Tuesday, Premier Daniel Andrews hinted he could make further changes to those he announced at the weekend.
It comes after Victoria recorded just one new case – which was under investigation at the time of writing – on Tuesday.
“I would just say when you look at these numbers, this could potentially be a day of zero and it's been a long time since we had a day of zero and it's a testament to the hard work of every single Victorian in the city, in the suburbs, in regional communities, large and small,” he said.
“We are well placed this weekend to be able to make very significant announcements about a further step to opening. We still have a few days, obviously, to run this week and things can change rapidly.
“But Victorians, I think, and particularly Melburnians, can be confident, can be absolutely optimistic, that the strategy is working, that the slow and steady and therefore safe way in which we are easing out of these restrictions is the only way we can do it.”
But Mr Andrews said people shouldn’t expect the changes to take place before the AFL Grand Final.
“We've been very clear that we want to look at numbers as they unfold this week,” he said.
“I'll stand here on Sunday and hopefully be able to confirm for Victorians that when it comes to retail, pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars, as well as a number of other settings, that we can have what's been termed a dark opening for, say, the first one or two days of next week and then we can be up and running from then.
“It's not appropriate for us to try and bring that forward.
“That is already essentially based on numbers bringing things forward from November 1.
“I know it's frustrating, but the passage of time is really important this in.”
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