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The Greater Brisbane lockdown will be lifted at 12pm on Thursday after Queensland reported one locally acquired case.
The three-day shutdown was due to expire at 5pm but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk brought this forward due to all local cases in the past 48 hours being linked to a known infection.
“That is good news for Queensland and Easter is good to go,” she told reporters.
A number of new restrictions will come into effect from midday on Thursday, including the enforcement of wearing masks in public until April 15.
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“All Queenslanders will be required to carry a mask when they leave their home,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Chief health officer Jeannette Young applauded residents in the Sunshine State for limiting community transmission during the outbreak but warned the risk of further infections was not over.
“We have to, unfortunately, keep those restrictions that have been in place for the next 14 days because we’re not completely cleared yet,” she said.
“We think we can manage it with those restrictions and with the response that we have seen from Queenslanders, but it doesn’t mean the outbreak is over.
“It just means that I don’t believe we need the lockdown to manage this outbreak going forward, we can use those other restrictions.”
Ken Illich, who runs the Brisbane Holiday Village, told ABC News Breakfast his business had lost 48 reservations in the lead up to Easter at a cost of about $40,000.
“And there’s a flow-on effect of that because those people use the restaurant and tours and other things as well,” he said.
An extension of the three-day lockdown, due to expire at 5pm on Thursday, was widely tipped by infectious disease experts but just two new cases on Wednesday with minimal community transmission buoyed the premier and her health team.
“Fingers crossed, all will be looking good for Easter,” Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Wednesday.
“But like I’ve said, it depends on the testing rates again, so if we see very good testing rates across Queensland and we don’t see any underlying community transmission, the signs for Easter are looking positive.”
More to come.
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