The return of office workers will be a "substantial boon" for Melbourne's struggling CBD, but the Victorian government doesn't believe the city centre will immediately rebound to pre-pandemic times.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Victoria recorded another 5852 COVID-19 cases and three deaths on Monday, the first weekday since a work-from-home recommendation was dumped and mask rules eased.
Industry Support and Recovery Minister Martin Pakula said he had noticed an uptick of activity in central Melbourne in the past month and expected foot traffic to grow in coming weeks as a result of the changes.
"The return to offices of workers, I think, will be a substantial boon to the CBD," he told reporters on Monday.
But with many workers, including public servants, returning to offices for as few as three days a week, Mr Pakula was not forecasting a snap back to normal.
"It is going to be different to what it was in 2019," he said.
Opposition CBD recovery spokesman David Southwick described Monday's back-to-work day as a "fizzer", calling for public sector workers to return to offices Monday to Friday and discounted or free public transport.
"We need real incentives," he said. "This needs to be a game changer.
"If people take a long weekend, these businesses will not survive."
Although no longer required in offices, masks remain mandatory for retail workers, primary school and early childhood staff, and justice and correctional facility employees as well as in other settings.
Wes Lambert, chief executive of the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association of Australia, believes the hospitality staff mandate should be ditched to inspire consumer confidence.
"It contributes to FOGO (the fear of going out)," he said.
In a further change announced on Monday, the Victorian government swung the axe on its long-running COVID-19 isolation payment system.
Victorians will no longer be able to claim the $450 payment while awaiting a PCR test result, previously dubbed the "gold standard" by Premier Daniel Andrews.
Mr Pakula said rapid antigen tests had reduced the need for people to take a PCR test and isolate, and were now widely available after widespread shortages in January amid the Omicron wave.
"Rapid antigen is the standard now," he said, noting their ability to produce results immediately or within 15 minutes.
More than 1.2 million payments worth about $545 million have been approved since the isolation payment system began in July 2020.
Final claims must be submitted before 9am on Wednesday and involve a PCR test taken on Tuesday or earlier.
Victorians needing to self-isolate, quarantine or care for someone in those circumstances can still access payments under the federal government's pandemic leave scheme.
VICTORIA'S LATEST COVID-19 FIGURES:
* Active cases: 41,205
* Hospital cases: 283
* Intensive care cases: 42
* Ventilated cases: seven
* Positive PCR tests: 1523
* Positive rapid tests: 4329
* Victorians 18 and over with three vaccine doses: 58.9 per cent.
Australian Associated Press
