Qld coronavirus: Where you can travel over Easter break

Easter holiday plans have been saved at the eleventh-hour within Queensland and now states are being urged to consider removing Brisbane as a hotspot.

Easter holiday plans have been saved at the eleventh-hour, with Queensland now hoping to benefit from a billion dollar “lifeline” to the state’s struggling tourism industry.

Greater Brisbane residents were released from lockdown at 12pm on Thursday, allowing holiday-makers plenty of time to travel within the state for the long weekend.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she hoped Queenslanders would get out to support the state’s industry, and also welcomed the “record” number of people flying to the Gold Coast and Cairns.

“I’m hearing the Gold Coast Airport had a record day yesterday with the number of people coming into the Gold Coast,” Ms Palaszczuk said on Thursday morning.

“I understand Cairns Airport is doing well as well.

“We are expecting a very good Easter. We are lifting Greater Brisbane as being a hot spot and I’m asking all other leaders across the country to consider doing the same as well.”

Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Gold Coast airport had a record day on Wednesday ahead of the Easter long weekend. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Christian Gilles

Late on Thursday, Victoria re-classified Greater Brisbane from a “red zone” to an “orange zone” which means people will be able to travel from the city to Victoria from 6pm.

But Western Australia will keep its hard border with Queensland, meaning only travellers with exemptions can enter.

Under the current health advice, Western Australia will not end its hard border with Queensland until 28 days after the last recorded case of community transmission.

“What we took was a highly precautionary approach in relation to Queensland and I think people understand that,” Premier Mark McGowan told reporters on Thursday.

“That’s what we’ve done over the course of last year.”

Travellers from Queensland, who arrived in Western Australia after March 27, must complete 14 days of self-isolation.

South Australia and Tasmania also closed their borders to Greater Brisbane.

In the Northern Territory, the hotspot arrangement with Greater Brisbane was revoked.

Those arriving into the Top End from the Sunshine State no longer need to undergo supervised quarantine.

Premier Mark McGowan’s historic election victory last month was largely due to his handling of the pandemic, so he appears unlikely to budge on his stance. Picture: Will Russell/Getty Images

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said the industry was calling on other states to ease their hotspot classification.

“We want people to confidently come here and return to their home state, that’s important and that’s our call today,” he told NCA NewsWire.

“Domestic tourism in Queensland was almost $20 billion in 2020, that’s without international travellers … That’s well over $1 billion per month. Easter is critically important and businesses are hanging on by a fingernail to see some prosperity.

“It’s a billion-dollar proposition … It’s an enormous relief, and we hope the Easter holidays will deliver an absolutely necessary boost to the tourism industry.

“Do the right thing for yourself and your family, enjoy a great holiday and in doing so, support the future of jobs in Queensland.”

Mr Gschwind said he was now calling on the vaccine rollout to be accelerated to ensure the tourism industry would not face the same uncertainty brought about by snap lockdowns again.

“We want it delivered efficiently to help prevent the necessity of such lockdowns in the future,” he said.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind has welcomed the state government’s announcement that Easter travel will be permitted following the end of lockdown. Picture: News Corp/Attila Csaszar

Ms Palaszczuk reminded interstate travellers that if they were heading to Queensland, they would need to abide by the same restrictions as residents.

“Really when you think about it, it’s a small thing to do, but it means that we can go out, support our businesses, support our tourism industry, and spend time with our loved ones which is, you know, a really special time of the year,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Around the NSW and QLD border, restrictions remain in place for the Byron, Ballina, Tweed and Lismore Shires.

Those restrictions include a maximum of 30 people inside people’s homes, the 4 sqm rule applying to hospitality businesses, no standing up at hospitality venues, masks being mandatory in retail stores, on public transport, as well as by hospitality workers and drivers.

“We’re obviously asking the population of those four council areas to respect the restrictions we put in place until at least after Easter,” NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

“We’re confident that that won’t really prevent businesses from staying open it won’t prevent people from doing what they would normally do.”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said authorities asked the population of the Byron, Ballina, Tweed and Lismore Shires to respect the restrictions in place over Easter. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

The NT removed its restrictions with the Byron Shine, which was also classified as a hotspot.

The requirement to be tested and complete 14 days of supervised quarantine was revoked at 3pm.

Those in isolation who are not considered close contacts of an existing COVID-19 positive person from Byron can leave.

Under the changes, anyone who arrives or had arrived in the NT who had been to that council area since March 26 must be tested with 72 hours and quarantine until a negative result is received.

The same requirements apply for people who arrived and visited the Ballina, Tweed or Lismore council areas from March 28.