NSW and Victoria to leave lockdown with pubs open but premiers warn Covid cases ...

The premiers of New South Wales and Victoria have told their citizens to 'prepare for the worst' with the Covid-ravaged states set to emerge from lockdown next month.

Although cases have stabilised in Victoria and fallen in NSW to levels not seen since August, the upcoming easing of restrictions is likely to see infection rates skyrocket once again with hospitalisations inevitable set to follow.

But Gladys Berejiklian and now Daniel Andrews are determined to achieve a new Covid-normal and are both marching forward with their 'gradual' reopening plans as vaccination rates hurtle towards the 70 per cent target set out by national cabinet.

The Victorian leader finally revealed his October roadmap out of lockdown on Sunday, giving much-needed hope to struggling Melburnians now in their sixth shutdown of the pandemic.

While Sydney's 12 LGAs of concern, subject to ultra-harsh stay-at-home measures for months, will see a range of restrictions eased from Monday, bringing the western suburbs back in line with the rest of the Harbour City.

Ms Berejiklian felt more comfortable removing the east-west divide with a dramatic fall in new cases to just 1,083 - the lowest infection tally in over three weeks.

Despite the positive signs the state also recorded 13 deaths, marking its deadliest day of the pandemic. 

The premier welcomed the signs the curve could be flattening but warned now wasn't the time to be complacent. 

'I say to all my colleagues that even when you get 80 per cent double dose and start opening up, you will get Covid-19 in your community. So please accept that and get ready for that,' she said.

'I don't want anyone to let their guard down, this is not the time to kick back and it's over.

'Some areas are showing decline, but other areas are still growing, and it's really important for us not to get complacent.

'If we stay the course, if we stick to the rules, we will be able to really start opening up at 70 per cent in a safe way and ensure that all of us in NSW move forward together.' 

The premier said the situation remains 'precarious' with case numbers expected to intensify amid the reopening.

'We are anticipating our worst weeks in ICU and hospitals to be in October… we are bracing for that and know that our health system is bracing for that and staff are ready for that.'  

NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty reiterated her warnings saying he didn't want to 'jump the gun' by proclaiming the state had passed its infection peak. 

'Cases overall have been going up, they have stabilised and appear to be dropping in some areas where we have had rapidly increasing vaccination uptake as well as good compliance,' he said.

An impressive 81.9 per cent of the state's over-16 population have now received their first vaccine dose, while 51.9 per cent are fully-vaccinated.

It was a similar message from her counterpart on the other side of the Murray River, who set out Victoria's long-awaited roadmap out of lockdown. 

'If we open steadily, gradually, but open, as we get to 70 and 80 per cent double dose, then our nurses, doctors, our ambos, they'll come under intense pressure,' Mr Andrews conceeded.

'It will be incredibly difficult in our health system, but we will be able to pass through a gateway, an important gateway. We will be able to normalise this.

'At that point we have got to open the place up, because remaining closed forever has its own cost in every sense of that word.'

Mr Andrews admitted easing the stay at home measures would likely result in a massive spike in hospitalisations and deaths with the Burnet Institute's Covid modelling predicting a December peak of 4,543 daily cases. 

'Even if you were lower than Burnet's, even their median, let alone their worst forecast, that won't be an easy day on any ward in any hospital. That'll be really, really tough,' Mr Andrews said.

Meanwhile, the 12 local councils in Sydney with the vast majority of NSW's Covid cases will see a range of new freedoms from Monday.

Locals have been locked inside their council area for the past two months unless they were an authorised worker with a permit, subject to a 9pm to 5am curfew, and were only allowed out for one hour a day for exercise. 

But these restrictions will now disappear and they will be under the same lockdown conditions as the rest of Sydney.

That means unlimited outdoor exercise and recreation, picnics outside for five vaccinated friends, and being able to go to weddings anywhere in Sydney. 

Only the permit system for authorised workers will continue.