Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has lifted Brisbane's three-day coronavirus lockdown, but people will have to carry and wear face masks for another 10 days.
Greater Brisbane's lockdown will end on Monday night, but
face masks will remain mandatory amid concerns over undetected coronavirus cases.
Subscribe for FREE to the HealthTimes magazine
Residents of Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Redlands can leave their homes for any reason from 6pm.
The three-day lockdown appears to have contained the highly contagious UK strain of COVID-19 with no new cases of community transmission reported since Friday.
"Can I thank people in the greater Brisbane region for responding in the way that they did? It has been absolutely, truly remarkable," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters.
"So I can announce that the reward for their sacrifice is that we are able to end our lockdown."
Queensland is on high alert after a cleaner at a Brisbane quarantine hotel was diagnosed with the UK virus strain.
The woman has been in the community since January 2 but no further locally acquired cases have been detected.
While lockdown will end, facemasks will remain mandatory in indoor public venues for the next 10 days.
People must carry a face mask at all times and wear it in indoor venues such as shops, hospitals, places of worship, libraries, cinemas, art galleries and gyms.
Masks are not required inside homes, restaurants or bars, or other places where people can socially-distance.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says the lockdown allowed contact-tracers to find 370 close contacts of the cleaner.
She said 172 have already tested negative for COVID-19 and the others are either getting tested or awaiting results.
Dr Young is still trying to find "less risky contacts" who visited three venues at the same time as the woman last week.
They 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.
"I'm not sure we've found everyone who attended those three venues yet," Dr Young said.
"So it's really important that anyone who has attended one of those three particular venues ... comes forward as soon as possible."
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland's Amanda Rohan said the lockdown and the new rules have been a setback for businesses during the crucial school holiday trading period.
She urged people to get out and support businesses while abiding by the new rules.
"What needs to happen now, is to know how we can prevent any future immediate shutdowns to avoid this uncertainty again," Ms Rohan said.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the lockdown created uncertainty for business, but it was a relief to see there were no new virus cases.
He said the police probe into the quarantine breach was crucial so that the overall system can be strengthened.
"We want to make sure that mistakes are minimised, and we learn from them," Mr Crisafulli said.
"And we want to be convinced that the best system's in place from this point forward, I think that is what every Queenslander wants of the government."
Dr Young urged people to get tested, particularly in the Calamvale North and Algester areas, after 18,904 tests were conducted on Sunday.
Four new virus cases were reported in hotel quarantine on Monday - two Emirates crew members and two passengers who had arrived from the UAE.
Two of those people had travelled to the UK, but Dr Young said it was too early to know if they had the more contagious strain of the virus.
Comments