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Brisbane to end Covid lockdown as new 10-day rules revealed

Queensland will end its strict lockdown of Greater Brisbane at 6pm tonight after another day of zero cases in the community.

However Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the city including Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and Redlands will still be under certain restrictions from 6pm Monday.

Residents in those areas will be made to wear masks in shopping centres, supermarkets, retail outlets and indoor markets. They will also be required in hospitals and aged care facilities, in churches and places of worship, libraries, indoor recreational facilities, such as cinemas, art galleries, and gyms.

Indoor and outdoor gatherings will also be restricted to 20 people.

The three-day lockdown was triggered by a cleaner contracting the virus from hotel quarantine. She was infected with the UK’s new highly-infectious strain.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Source: Getty
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will end Brisbane's lockdown on Monday. Source: Getty

However Queensland failed to record a single locally acquired case following her diagnosis.

Ms Palaszczuk defended the decision of the lockdown, despite no indications of community transmission.

“[It was] definitely not an overreaction. It was supported by AHPPC and supported by National Cabinet,” she said.

“It has been supported by people in Greater Brisbane. They have absolutely done everything that we have asked them and they have seen the results today.”

Warning to residents virus danger not over

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young warned the state was not out the woods yet.

“We can't quite relax yet. We still need to see out the remainder of [the cleaner’s] 14-day incubation period,” she said.

Dr Young said 370 close contacts had been identified and tested, returning negative results. She said they will be tested again.

However, they're still racing to find everyone who visited three separate venues in southern Brisbane.

These include Woolworths at Calamvale North between 11am and 12pm on January 3, Coles Sunnybank Hills Shoppingtown between 7.30am and 8am on January 5 and a Sunnybank Hills newsagent between 8am and 8:15am on January 5.

Brisbane’s lockdown will end at 6pm tonight. Source: Getty
Brisbane’s lockdown will end at 6pm tonight. Source: Getty

"I'm not sure we've found everyone who attended those three venues yet,' she said.

The cleaner had spent five days in the community after contracting the virus in early January.

It is still unknown how she acquired the virus from the quarantine program.

There were 18,904 tests processed in the state in the previous 24 hours, with Ms Palaszczuk praising the response from her state.

“We wanted to make sure we acted quickly, we acted strongly, we acted decisively and that is exactly what we did,” she said.

“Can I thank people in the greater Brisbane region for responding in the way that they did. It has been absolutely truly remarkable.”

Further restrictions revealed

Other restrictions include hospitality patrons to be seated when eating and drinking while no dancing is permitted.

Businesses and venues can have one person per 4m² indoors and one person per 2m² outdoors.

Smaller venues up to 200m² can have one person per 2m² up to a maximum of 50.

Weddings and funerals can have 100 people in attendance. Dancing is allowed at weddings.

Indoor concert venues can operate at 50 per cent capacity or one person per four square metres, whichever is greater.

Outdoor concert venues can operate at 50 per cent capacity with Covid-safe plans.

People working in places where they can socially-distance do not have to wear masks.

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