Apparently 'non-essential retail' is to open from 1800 hours on...

Apparently 'non-essential retail' is to open from 1800 hours on Friday 28 October 2021 in Greater Melbourne.

The MYR website is silent about this. I assume all Melbourne stores will reopen on Saturday 29. Why the Victorian Government couldn't allow stores to open from the start of normal business is beyond me. For the umpteenth time, it demonstrates how chaotic and lacking empathy with businesses small and large the whole COVID-19 response has been in Victoria.

There's also confusion. This is from 'The Age':

"...Australian Retailers Association chief industry affairs officer Fleur Brown said Victorian businesses had had to navigate some “confusing and mixed messaging from the state government in recent days”.

“What retailers want is clarity and certainty,” she said.

“As it stands, customers won’t have to show their vaccination status in order to shop in general retail stores from Friday, and there is no requirement on businesses to do any vaccine checks until November 24. That’s the most recent direction from the Victorian government and, as they have throughout the pandemic, retail businesses will follow the health protocols..."