Queensland has recorded just one local case of Covid-19 on Thursday as Brisbane's snap three-day lockdown is lifted hours before the Easter holiday weekend begins.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said 10 cases were recorded state-wide overnight, but all but one of them were found in hotel quarantine.
The one local case went to the same bachelorette party in Byron Bay as a nurse who was infected with coronavirus while working in the Covid-19 ward at Brisbane's Princes Alexandra Hospital.
Ms Palaszczuk said restaurants and cafes in the city can fully re-open as of 12pm on Thursday, but customers throughout Queensland must remain seated.
Masks will remain mandatory in indoor settings such as shopping centres, supermarkets, indoor workplaces and public transport across the state until April 15.
Home gatherings until then will be restricted to 30 people and dancing will be banned in public venues.
Fears remain though that health officials in New South Wales will reveal later on Thursday the cluster of cases linked to the Byron Bay party has grown even further.
The cluster of cases linked to the bachelorette party has grown to 12 cases, while the one connected to a doctor at the Princess Alexandra Hospital remains steady at eight infections.
'That is good news for Queensland and Easter is good to go,' Ms Palaszczuk said.
'The two preconditions [to lift lockdown] is there needed to be no unlinked community transmission and the second was high testing rates.
'Well, I can thank Queenslanders because they have come out in their thousands to be tested.'
The state processed a record 34,711 Covid-19 tests in the past 24 hours.
Ms Palaszczuk said the one new case of community transmission had tested negative in self-isolation on Monday night before returning a positive result on Wednesday.
Queensland Health have meanwhile said Anzac Day events will go ahead in the state on April 25 as long as they are Covid-safe.
Weddings can welcome one person per two square metres or 200 guests - whichever is greater.
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said restricting home gatherings to 30 people was vital to stopping the virus from spreading further.
'We saw it with that party down at Byron Bay, those 11 people, they were in an Airbnb, so a private residence, and now all of them virtually all of them have become infected,' she said.
Restrictions until Thursday April 15 across Queensland:
- Masks mandatory indoors (shopping centres, supermarkets, OFFICES, public transport)
- No standing in bars, pubs etc
- Home gatherings limited at 30
- No dancing in public venues
- One person per two square metre rule in shops/restaurants
- Weddings can host 200 guests or one guest per two square metres - whichever is greater
'We know that private residences are a risk.'
The announcement comes after hospital staff who worked in an infectious disease ward at the centre of Queensland's Covid-19 clusters were forced into isolation.
All staff who entered Ward 5D at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane between 8pm on March 23 and 12pm on March 26 must self-isolate for 14 days - regardless of whether they treated Covid-positive patients.
A 'large number of staff' at the inner-city hospital will have to self-isolate, an internal hospital email said.
'Following executive meetings today with Public Health we have just been instructed that staff who entered ward 5D between 8pm Tuesday 23rd March and 12pm Friday 26th March will be required to quarantine for a period of 14 days from the time they were in ward 5D,' the email obtained by The Courier-Mail said.
'This will include a large number of staff and it is regardless of whether there was patient contact or not.
'We understand this may cause distress to many members of staff but we are required to strictly enforce this directive.'
The ward will also undergo a thorough deep clean.
On Wednesday, it emerged a vaccinated nurse working at the hospital had tested positive to Covid-19 after likely catching the virus from a returned traveller.
Another nurse who is part of the same cluster went to a hen's party in Byron Bay, northern New South Wales, where they infected six other people including guests and a male stripper.
A second cluster linked to a junior doctor who contracted the virus in early March sits at eight cases.
One discreet clue on the Queensland Health website meanwhile has hinted Brisbane's lockdown be could extended until Tuesday.
Another case of community transmission linked to one of the two Brisbane clusters was reported in Byron Bay on Wednesday, while several more venues were added to the list of exposure sites.
A NSW man in his 20s returned a positive test to the virus on Tuesday, after unknowingly infectious travellers visited a number of venues in the Byron Bay region.
The man last Friday attended the same venue as a hen's party linked to several COVID-19 cases in Queensland.
The case prompted Premier Gladys Berejiklian to reintroduce restrictions in four northern NSW local government areas - Byron, Ballina, Tweed and Lismore.
It prompted Bluesfest to be cancelled just 24 hours before the first act was due to perform. The eleventh hour decision has left thousands of attendees stranded in the tourist town.
Overnight, more local venues in Byron Bay were added to the growing list of potential exposure sites.
Anyone who visited any shop or takeaway on Saturday March 27 between noon and 4pm in Lawson, Jonson, Browning and Fletcher streets has been ordered to get tested immediately and self-isolate until they return a negative result.
Fears were growing the lockdown in Queensland could continue, with a seemingly insignificant paragraph on the state's official health website appearing to indicate the lockdown could last an extra five days.
'It's a balancing act between shutting things down to allow for contact tracing versus heading into a holiday weekend that most people want, and quite frankly need, right now,' he told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
'The reality is, the risk is quite high (of community transmission), but with a collective challenge to throw everything we can at it; by getting tested, wearing masks, staying home if you're not well and social distancing, we may be okay.'
Infectious cases have visited venues in Greater Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Gladstone, Toowoomba, Hervey Bay and Gin Gin.
Most cases are now in Brisbane or regional hospitals, including on the Gold Coast, at Toowoomba, and Bundaberg.
Hamilton Hotel in Brisbane has been added to the high alert venues list after a Covid-infected patron visited the bar between 2.20pm and 5.20 pm on Tuesday.
Anyone at the pub at the same time is considered a close contact and must self-isolate for 14 days and get tested immediately.
Newstead Brewing on Doggett Street - one of Brisbane's most popular bars - has been added to the state's casual contact locations.
Anyone who visited TAFE in Southbank on Wednesday March 17 from 8am to 4.30pm is considered a casual contact and should get tested.
The casual contacts list also includes Officeworks in Rothwell, Stable Coffee Kitchen in Tugun, World Gym in North Lakes, Coles in Everton Park Shopping Centre and Reef Seafood & Sushi Brisbane.
The following restrictions apply to the Byron Bay, Ballina, Tweed and Lismore local government areas, which come into affect from 5pm Wednesday (march 31) and continue over Easter until 11:59pm Monday April 5
- Home gatherings restricted to 30 people, including holiday rentals
- One person per four square metre rule in public indoor settings including hospitality venues
- Customers must be seated at all times in venues
- Mandatory masks in shops, transport, taxis
Until at least Tuesday, gatherings will be limited to 30, the 'four square metre' rule reintroduced, and masks mandated in some settings.
The premier also urged residents living in the area not to head elsewhere for the Easter break.
'It is our very strong preference that if you live in any of those four local government areas, that you don't travel outside those areas,' Ms Berejiklian told reporters on Wednesday.
The premier also said the government would not yet discourage NSW holiday-goers from visiting Byron Bay.
Close contacts
Hamilton Hotel sports bar in Hamilton on Tuesday March 23 from 2.20pm-4.45pm
Hamilton Hotel pokies room in Hamilton on Tuesday March 23 from 4.45pm-5.23pm
Casual contacts
Body Plus Physio in Caboolture on Tuesday March 16 from 8.30am to 8.50am
Silky Oakes in Strathpine on Tuesday March 16 from 12pm-12.05pm
PriceLine Pharmacy in Albany Creek on Tuesday March 16 from 12.30pm-12.40pm
Grill'd in Eatons Hill on Tuesday March 16 from 1pm-1.30pm
TAFE in Southbank on Wednesday March 17 from 8am-4.30pm
Woolworths in Everton Park on Wednesday March 17 from 1.39pm-2.13pm
World Gym in North Lakes on Thursday March 18 from 9.15am-9.45am
Basil and Vine in Burpengary on Thursday March 18 from 10am-10.15am
Electric Chair Barber Shop in Everton Park on Thursday March 18 from 3.15pm-4.14pm
Lawnton Country Markets Bakery in Lawnton on Friday March 19 from 6.11am-16.26am
Westfield North Lakes on Friday March 19 from 11.20am-11.50am
Newstead Brewing Co. in Newstead on Friday March 19 from 3.54pm-5.29pm
Reef Seafood & Sushi Brisbane in Newstead on Friday March 19 from 5.37pm-6.35pm
The Standard Market Company, Gasworks Plaza, in Newstead on Friday March 19 from 6.35pm-6.45pm
Public Toilet at Gasworks Plaza in Newstead on Friday March 19 from 6.46pm-6.47pm
Plus Fitness 24/7 Gym in Everton Park on Saturday March 20 from 7.40am-8.34pm
Coles in Everton Park Shopping Centre on Saturday March 20 on 8.39am-8.44am
Neighbourhood Market Co in Everton Park from 8.45am-8.55pm
The Bavarian Eagle Street Pier in Brisbane City on Saturday March 20 from 2.15pm-4pm
Riverland Brisbane in Brisbane City on Saturday March 20 from 4.10pm-6.32pm
Viscosity in Fortitude Valley on Saturday March 20 from 6.42pm-7.31pm
XCargo in Fortitude Valley on Saturday March 20 from 7.35pm-9.32pm
Burrito Bar in Everton Park on Saturday March 21 from 3.24pm-3.33pm
Westfield (Dymocks and Woolworths), North Lakes - Tuesday 23 March, 11am to 12pm
Woolworths Strathpine - Tuesday 23 March, 4pm to 4.30pm
TAFE, Southbank - Wednesday 24 March, 8am to 4.30pm
Coles Everton Plaza Shopping Centre, Wednesday 24 March, 3.24pm to 3.33pm
Uroko Sushi on Train, Everton Park - Wednesday 24 March, 7.19pm to 7.33pm
World Gym, North Lakes - Thursday 25 March, 8.45am to 9.45am
Officeworks, Rothwell - Thursday 25 March, 12pm to 12.30pm
Westfield, North Lakes - Thursday 25 March, 2pm to 3pm
Oliver's Real Food, Maryborough West - Thursday 25 March, 11.50am to 12.09pm
World Gym, North Lakes - Friday 26 March, 10am to 10.30am
Stable Coffee Kitchen, Tugun - Sunday 28 March, 10.27am to 10.48am
Southport Park Shopping Centre - Sunday 28 March, 3pm to 4pm
