The world's most locked-down state is finally free, a 70 percent vaccination rate triggering the end of Melbourne's months-long lockdown - despite more than 2000 cases on Friday.
After spending 262 days in lockdown - with six intermittent breaks between them - Melbourne was finally free at midnight, the celebrations echoing across the city.
As of Friday, restrictions for the fully vaccinated have been lifted for good, but the unvaccinated are likely to wait until next year before they can enjoy the same freedoms.
But Chapel Street, an iconic strip running along the inner suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor and St Kilda, shows the reality of lockdown. Instead of 'open' signs, 'for lease' is seen on a number of shop-fronts that simply couldn't survive.
And nurses on the frontline are concerned about what will happen next. Hospital staff are anxious that the healthcare system could be overwhelmed with cases, with 2189 new infections and 16 deaths recorded across the state of Victoria on Friday. Currently 145 people are in the ICU.
"Our staff are really frightened that we won't meet the demand and people die as a consequence," says Dr Siobhan Lockwood, a cardiologist.
"It's awful - as a doctor, you want to help people and this is testing our ability to do that.
"We know this is a preventable condition, and we know the vaccine works."
Meanwhile, Sydney in neighbouring New South Wales is 10 days into freedom. Case numbers haven't exploded as predicted, with 345 recorded on Friday.
Hospitalisations also are continuing to drop, with the state on-track to be 92 percent fully vaccinated in a matter of days.
A tale of two states - letting the vaccinated live with the virus.
