Australians are one step closer to normality as state governments prepare to ease a number of coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday.
Restaurants and cafes in New South Wales will be able to welcome more customers through their doors as the government scraps its 50-person limit on indoor venues.
Instead, venues will have to abide by the one person per four square metres rule.
And it’s not just the hospitality industry that will see a boost after sweeping changes come into force in the state.
Stadiums across NSW with a capacity of more than 40,000 people can host up to 10,000 fans at AFL and NRL games from July 1.
Community sport will also return, meaning thousands of local teams can get back out on the field.
Children’s and adult community sport will be back in action in NSW on July 1 (pictured, people playing volleyball on Bondi Beach on June 6)
Cinemas will also be able to reopen with social distancing measures in place to reduce the risk of the disease spreading within the community (pictured, a Geelong cinema on June 22)
Music festivals and nightclubs will remain closed (pictured, clubbers in the Gold Coast, where clubs can reopen but dancing is banned)
Cinemas will also be able to reopen with social distancing measures in place to reduce the risk of the disease spreading within the community.
Movie-goers will be seated 1.5 metre apart and screening times will be staggered to give time for staff to disinfect theatres in between showings.
However, music festivals and nightclubs will remain closed in most states as they have been deemed to be risky to reopen during this time.
Nightclubs are already open in the Northern Territory, with Queensland clubs also allowed to reopen – but with strict social distancing in place.
Queenslanders are also in for a treat with amusement parks, zoos and concert venues reopening from July 10.
Venues will be restricted to just 100 guests at one time but the government will consider a proposal to change to a one person per two square metres rule at Friday’s National Cabinet meeting.
Queensland will also reopen its borders on July 10, but Victorians will be forced to quarantine in hotels – paid for out of their own pocket.
Coronavirus restrictions are slowly being eased across Australia (pictured, customers sit in the sun at a cafe in Bondi on June 6)
From Wednesday, restaurants and cafes in NSW will be able to welcome more customers through their doors (pictured, customers rugged up as they waited in line for a cafe in Bondi)
Queensland will stop Victorians entering the state while letting all other Australians in from July 10 (pictured, the border near the Gold Coast)
The curve in Victoria has skyrocketed over the past couple of weeks as coronavirus infections continue to grow from within the suburbs of Melbourne
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the long-awaited announcement on Tuesday.
However, anyone entering the state will be asked to declare they have not been in Victoria in the past two weeks.
There will be fines of $4,000 for anyone who is caught lying on the online form.
Authorities in Victoria have been scrambling since the state saw a spike in cases over the past week.
Case numbers surged by 75 on Sunday, 71 on Monday and 64 on Tuesday – an extra 210 cases in just three days – in the biggest jump in cases since the state was lockdown in March.
Experts said the spike should be immediately stamped out with politicians on guard to reimpose strict lockdown conditions in the worst suburbs if cases are not immediately controlled.
Most of the new spike in infections came from community-based transmissions rather than from overseas travellers.
Six local government areas in Melbourne have been identified as coronavirus hotspots, with authorities conducting mass testing on around 10,000 residents daily.
The areas include Hume and Brimbank, in Melbourne’s north and west, Casey and Cardinia in the city’s southeast and Moreland and Darebin in the north.
Premier Daniel Andrews said authorities are waiting on the full results of a three-day coronavirus testing blitz in 10 suburban hotspots to come through before deciding on any further measures to contain the virus.
Victoria has been carrying out a testing blitz in ten suburbs across Melbourne (pictured, the ten ‘hotspot’ suburbs)
Despite the rise in COVID-19 cases, Victoria will also ease restrictions from July 12.
Indoor and outdoor venue limits, including restaurants, cafes and pubs, will be eased to allow up to 50 people.
Limits at auction houses, community halls, libraries, museums and places of worship will also be relaxed to allow 50 people.
The tourism industry in South Australia and Tasmania will be in for a boost at borders reopen.
South Australia will open its borders to NSW, Victoria and the ACT from July 20.
Border restrictions will also be lifted in Tasmania on July 24.
Nationwide, there has been 7,767 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including 104 deaths. Of the total, 7,008 have recovered.
A woman in a face mask is seen walking past St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne on June 21 (pictured) as coronavirus cases rise across the city