Masks mandatory under Qld’s post-lockdown restrictions

A suite of new rules will come into place on Sunday afternoon as southeast Queensland’s lockdown ends.

Southeast Queenslanders will be released from lockdown on Sunday afternoon, but will need to follow strict rules for at least two weeks.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was important residents of the 11 local government areas that spent the past eight days in lockdown recognised they were “not out of the woods yet”.

Southeast Queenslanders will be released from lockdown on Sunday, but will need to follow strict restrictions for two weeks. Picture: David Clark

For the next 14 days, high school students will be required to wear masks at school.

“For all our high school students, please, I need you to wear masks, because you’ll be helping to keep the whole community safe,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Because we have the Delta strain, and until we can get to those 70 and 80 per cent of vaccination rates, masks are absolutely critical.”

Masks will remain mandatory in a host of settings. Picture: Tara Croser.

Other rules that will come into place at 4pm Sunday include a maximum of 10 people inside homes.

“You are able to go and visit your loved ones in hospital and aged care, but of course you can’t do that if you are subject to a home quarantine order,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Weddings and funerals will be capped at 20 people.

Places of worship, convention centres, retail, hospitality, gyms, hairdressers, beauty and personal care venues will all reopen, but the one person per four square metre restrictions will come back into force.

Community sports will not be permitted over the next two weeks.

Testing levels have been high enough for the state’s chief health officer Jeannette Young to feel confident to lift southeast Queensland’s lockdown. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Ms Palaszczuk stressed that masks would continue to be “really important” and would need to be worn widely.

She said those living in southeast Queensland could travel within that area, but now was “not the time” to be travelling to regional parts of the state.

“Please, put off plans to visit family and friends in regional Queensland for the next two weeks,” she said.