In Victoria's second-biggest city, beauty salons, hotels and wineries have reopened, but many await the return of Melburnians who remain under stage 4 restrictions.
Regional Victoria started opening up yesterday with a mix of optimism for the future and sadness for friends and family in Melbourne.Victoria's second-biggest city welcomes gradual reopening but says times remain toughDubbed "freedom day", manyproviding they adhered to rules to reduce the risk of COVID-19.
"It has been amazing … it's just different to sit down and serve people and have a little chat with them over the table.""Geelong is doing a really great job, as well as Melbourne, I'm not here to say who is doing a better job than others," he said. And while this year has been tough — "2020, does it even exist?" he quipped — Mr Housaiki remained optimistic about the future.
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