COVID-19 UPDATE: Lockdown lifted

The lockdown of Greater Brisbane, including the Moreton Bay Region, will end at noon today with just one new case of community transmission. There are 10 in total - the other nine are in hotel quarantine.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says: "That is good news for Queensland and Easter is good to go".

"Some families have made plans and we don't want to see accidents on our roads at 5pm today and into the evening. I encourage everyone to take care on the roads and enjoy your time with family and friends."

Some restrictions will remain in place

"From noon today until April 15 all of Queensland will have to carry a mask when they leave their home," she says.

They will need to worn in indoor places such as shopping centres, supermarkets and indoor workplaces.

Ms Palaszczuk says people attending cafes, restaurants and hotels will need to be seated.

"This is really important. We're doing this for the next two weeks because we are not out of the woods yet," she says.

"For the next two weeks, if we all do the right thing, we can get through this together."

Gatherings at homes are restricted to 30 people and dancing is not permitted in public venues. Businesses can reopen but must adhere to the one person per 2sqm rule.

Church services can also proceed following the same social distancing rules and at 100 per cent capacity, with ticketed seating.

There are now 82 active cases in Queensland, 68 of those are returned travellers in quarantine.

Ms Palaszczuk says she has written to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ask that the reduction in Queensland's intake of returned travellers be continued. Deputy Premier Steven Miles called on the Federal Government to set up a national quarantine centre.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young says she is confident the outbreak is being managed because of the high rate of testing. More than 34,000 people have been tested in the past 24 hours.

Dr Young is thanking everyone who has come forward to be tested, some waiting in long lines to do so.

She is calling on people to continue doing this for the next 14 days and to adhere to the restrictions so the outbreak can be managed.

Hospitals, aged care and disability care facilities, and prisons will be closed to visitors - except for end-of-life visitation. This is because only a small number of aged care residents have been vaccinated and there is a need to protect vulnerable populations.

List of exposure sites grows

The number of possible exposure sites continues to grow across South East Queensland and further afield, with the rising number of locally acquired cases.

Late yesterday, more than 30 were added to the list include many in the Moreton Bay Region. These included Westfield North Lakes, World Gym North Lakes, Priceline Pharmacy Albany Creek, Woolworth Strathpine and Officeworks Rothwell.

There are many others and the list is being updated regularly. To view the most up-to-date list, head here

It follows news of two clusters of the highly infectious UK Variant on Tuesday - one linked to the PA doctor and the other linked to a nurse who worked at the PA hospital.

The PA hospital is now in lockdown as Queensland Health tests staff who worked in the ward 5D between noon Friday, March 19 and 4pm Sunday, March 28.

Ward 5D is the PA Hospital’s infectious diseases ward.

High-risk venues

Anyone who visited the following venues at the times specified must quarantine at home for 14 days.

They must also complete the contact tracing self-assessment if they have not already been contacted by Queensland Health.

And they must stay quarantined even if they get a negative test until the 14 days have passed. It can take 14 days before a patient shows symptoms or tests positive.

The venues are:

Drive-through testing clinic is open

A pop-up drive-through testing clinic is open at South Pine Sports Complex. People are being asked to remain in their vehicles. Medical staff from Sullivan Nicholaides Pathology are coming to car windows to conduct tests.

It will be open until 5pm today and will reopen at 9am tomorrow.

For testing, enter via the main entrance, for sport, enter via the back entrance.

For a list of other testing centres across the region, head here

Support local businesses

As greater Brisbane and the Moreton Bay Region settle into the lockdown, hospitality venues offering takeaway are calling for your support.

The industry has been hit particularly hard during previous lockdowns and many will turn to takeaway trade in a bid to serve their customers, employ their staff and keep money coming in.

See the story and list of venues offering takeaway, here

Find more local news here