Restrictions will ease from Friday across south-east Queensland, but masks will be required indoors for another week as the state recorded no new COVID-19 cases in the community, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.
Four cases were recorded in the past 24 hours — three were detected on an LNG tanker and the other in hotel quarantine.
Ms Palaszczuk announced that contact restrictions will be eased two days earlier across south-east Queensland, as a result of low local case numbers this week.
From 4:00pm on Friday across 11 local government areas, 30 people will be allowed in home and in public places, while up to 100 people will be able to attend funerals and weddings.
Community sport can resume this weekend.
However, limits on the number of people allowed inside cafes and restaurants are being extended for another week.
"There'll be 75 [per cent] capacity for indoor events and stadiums … and community sport can come back this Saturday, so that's wonderful news," Ms Palaszczuk said.
Masks not needed outside from next week
Masks will no longer be required outdoors, but must still be worn indoors for another week.
The Premier said masks would not be required for people who are indoors and socially distanced, such as in an office.
"If you are outdoors you do not have to wear your mask, but you will have to continue to wear your mask indoors," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"That is, if you know you're going to the supermarket, you're going shopping centres, you're going into workplaces."
The Premier said high school students will still be required to wear masks.
Restrictions to ease in far north
Restrictions will also ease in the Far North Queensland centres of Cairns and Yarrabah, matching the rest of the state, with no limits on people gathering in public spaces.
Weddings and funerals will be allowed up to 200 people, while 100 people will be able to gather in homes.
Businesses, such as cafes, pubs and restaurants, can also return to one person per 2 square metres.
'Every single person' to be checked at NSW border
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said it was concerning to see another 633 cases recorded in New South Wales.
She said case numbers in the northern part of NSW currently posed the biggest risk to Queensland.
"Because of what is going on down in NSW … we do need to maintain some restrictions for further week while we tighten up our border," Dr Young said.
Last week, Queensland Health announced that from this Friday, essential workers would only be able to cross the border from NSW into Queensland if they have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
"But we're now going through just to make sure that every single person coming across that border is genuinely necessary to the functioning of Queensland," Dr Young said.
"We can see the cases moving closer and closer to our border, we've seen cases in Broken Hill, in Bourke, in Dubbo, Ballina, Byron Bay.
"So we have the next few days to really get that tightened up and sorted.
"We have seen Delta now cause problems throughout the country."
Essential workers urged to get vaccinated
Queensland's Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said an audit of people crossing the border for essential reasons found about 50 per cent of essential workers were already vaccinated.
She again appealed for essential border workers to come forward and get vaccinated.
"At Broadbeach, we will have extra capacity. We will be open until 6:30pm each day and we will not turn away anyone who's an essential border worker there to get vaccinated," Ms D'Ath said.
Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the authorities had seen fewer people trying to cross the border in recent days.
"So from a high of 7,700 on Monday [it was] down to 5,700 yesterday," he said.
"We saw the turnarounds go from 1,090 down to 513 yesterday, so that shows us that people are starting to understand what is required of them."
Across Queensland, more than 2,400 people remain under home quarantine orders.
The state has 97 active COVID-19 cases.
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