Regional Victorians are heading to their local fitness gyms, yoga studios and indoor religious services as active cases in regional areas fall to zero for the first time since March.
Gippsland Yoga Space owner Jen Cumming said their students had already enjoyed the benefits of returning to class.
"A lot of people are recommended yoga for stress relief or anxiety, and a lot of people tell me the second they step inside they can forget the stresses of the day and focus on moving their bodies," she said.
Under the eased restrictions, yoga studios can only fill to a capacity of 10 people per class, with a density limit of one person per eight square metres and 20 people per venue overall.
Miss Cumming said her space used to host classes of up to 23 people, but only five students were now allowed.
"We're having to adapt and change our business models, It's worth getting back into it for now, but we really do need to be able to get back to business as usual to recover from this year," she said.
In the gym at 4:00am
Stratford gym owner Heath Curtis could not wait to open the doors as soon as restrictions allowed.
"We had people here at 4:00am so they were pumped, they were ready, the energy is high."
Mr Curtis said his clients were prepared to abide by the COVID-safe rules, including compulsory face masks until the point of exertion, if it meant they could come back to the gym.
"So with running, the rower, the cross-trainer and the bike, your breathing gets a lot more heavy and the mask can come off but once you calm down a bit, you have to put your mask back on," he said.
Mr Curtis said his fledgling business "took a massive hit" from the six-month shutdown.
"We're just excited about being able to open the doors again and that's helping people with their health and fitness, rehabilitation and mental health."
Indoor religious services return
The Gippsland Anglican Diocese today welcomed parishioners back for the first indoor service since restrictions were relaxed.
Ten people attended the socially distanced service at Sale Cathedral, 200 kilometres east of Melbourne, which was the first held at the church since regional Victoria re-entered lockdown.
At the door, parishioners were greeted with hand sanitiser and there was no wine during communion to minimise the risk of infection.
Dean Susanna Pain said she was happy to welcome people back for indoor services.
"It's wonderful to see real faces and to feel people's responses," Reverend Pain said.
"Many of the people that were here this morning are isolated, they live alone.
"They have family that live in Melbourne that they haven't been able to see; they've just been hanging out to get back together again and it's wonderful to see."
No 'dark opening' for cinemas
Like most cinemas across the state, the Lakes Squash & Movie Theatre at Lakes Entrance in eastern Victoria remained closed.
Owner Chris Fuhrmeister said his business had lost about $100,000 during the pandemic and he was eagerly waiting to reopen the doors.
"It has been horrific because we lost all of that trade in the usually busy school holiday periods," he said.
"We're one of the worst affected industries out of all the industries in the country."
He said the State Government must provide some clarity to theatre owners so they could plan ahead for the Christmas season.
"We have not heard one single word from the Government about reopening. In fact, we have not heard the word 'cinema' mentioned at all," he said.
"We need to know what's going on, and when we can open," Mr Fuhrmeister said.
But Labor Upper House Member for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing, said it may be a while before cinemas could reopen.
"There are a lot of people who cannot wait to get back to the flicks," she said.
"But cinemas are closed and confined environments and it's also really difficult to regulate what happens in that space because it is dark."
She said cinemas would not reopen until the final stage of the roadmap, with strict cleaning and processes in place.
