Victorian officials are holding a press conference after hundreds were identified as close contacts of a confirmed Omicron case. Join Sky News Australia for live coverage.
Health Minister Martin Foley on Wednesday will sign pandemic orders, under the new Public Health and Wellbeing Act, which will come into effect from 11:59pm and remain in place until January 12.
"The mandatory vaccination requirement will be removed for all customers in retail, except hair and beauty services, and will also be removed in real estate, places of worship, weddings and funerals. "Under the pandemic orders, restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs are still only open to fully vaccinated patrons and staff. Workers are required to wear masks."
"Workplaces exposed to a positive coronavirus case will no longer need to be deep cleaned, after mounting international evidence that coronavirus is an airborne or droplet-borne disease and the likelihood of becoming infected by touching a surface is very low risk. Meanwhile, hundreds of patrons of two popular Victorian hospitality venues have been forced into mandatory quarantine after they were identified as close contacts of a confirmed Omicron case.