The Victorian government announced that it would allow 10,000 double-vaccinated fans to attend this year’s Melbourne Cup. However, their decision has elicited mixed reactions on social media. The Victorian citizens who have received both their Covid-19 jabs will be allowed to attend the event and enjoy live music within weeks. This will also serve as a large-scale trial of crowd numbers as Victoria prepares for reopening. You can also check out grandnational.org.uk before your arrival for a guide on the Aintree Grand National. The Victorian government also stated that the same number of fans would be allowed at the Oaks Day and Stakes Day, suppose the 80% fully vaccinated target is reached.

The Victorian premier Daniel Andrews stated that the Melbourne Cup is a guaranteed crowd and will form part of a trial. He also stated that the events would send a signal about changes in the coming months. Moreover, the premier claimed they planned to normalize the virus as they navigate through the challenging gateway. Besides that, the premier assured Victorian residents that they would be back doing what they do best.

The government plans to use the events as part of a large-scale trial to determine how Victoria’s economy will run once they achieve the 80% vaccination threshold. However, the Derby Day on 30th October will not be included in the trial. The event attracted over 80,000 fans when it was last held in 2019.

On the other hand, Martin Pakula, the state’s racing and major events minister, claimed that the limits were tighter than the 11500 people the industry had hoped for. Nevertheless, he agreed that they were a crucial test. Moreover, the minister claimed that the community had a strong emotion and urge for the government to open. Therefore, he suggested that having crowds at the events would be a strong signal to send to the nation and the rest of the world that Melbourne is opening up.

Smaller Trials

Before the large-scale events, there will be smaller trials in regional Victorian venues. The targeted small venues include hotels, a gym, cinemas, a church, and a beauty clinic. The 15 venues taking part in the trials include pubs in Cowes, Wycheproof, the Pyrenees, and a few other venues in east Gippsland, Warrnambool, and Bendigo.

These events were preceded by the first stage of the state’s vaccinated economy trials under the 70% double dose settings. Moreover, 15 venues are earmarked for this phase of the trials, including cafes, hotels, beauty clinics, churches, cinemas, and gyms. The venues are in six local government locations and will be allowed to run at higher capacities and density limits.

During the trials, the use of vaccine certificate technology will be tested. Apart from that, there will be fine-tuning of staff training and support for business owners and public communication of vaccine requirements.

Fantastic News for fans

Many fans took to social media to hail the government’s decision to allow 10000 fans to attend the Melbourne Cup as fantastic news. The fans were also hopeful that the “race that stops the nation” would help kickstart Victoria’s state.

However, some fans claimed that it was a terrible decision because it was biased. They claimed that the entertainment industry still faced patron density limits. Other Victorians claimed they were more interested in hearing about confirmations of the government easing restrictions than the four-day trial.