Coronavirus: One new community case in Brisbane but COVID-19 lockdown ends in time for Easter

Coronavirus: One new community case in Brisbane but COVID-19 lockdown ends in time for Easter

Another community COVID-19 case has emerged in Brisbane, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced - but the city will still come out of lockdown in time for Easter.

The new case - one of 10 detected on Thursday, with the others all in quarantine facilities - is linked to one of two known clusters in Brisbane, allaying fears of a fresh outbreak.

"That is fantastic news," Palaszczuk said in a press conference on Thursday morning.

"As I said yesterday, we are looking at two preconditions before we can lift the lockdown: there needed to be no unlinked community transmission and high testing rates. Well, I can thank Queenslanders because Queenslanders have come out in their thousands to be tested.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. There have been 34,711 tests - another record."

The lockdown restrictions will be lifted from 12pm on Thursday (local time) - five hours earlier than initially planned - to ensure traffic doesn't build to dangerous levels as locals head on holiday.

"I understand a lot of families in the Greater Brisbane have made plans and the last thing we want to see are accidents on our roads at 5pm this afternoon into the evening.

"So if you have plans, the lockdown is lifted from 12 noon today and I encourage people to take care on the roads."

While the lockdown has been lifted in Greater Brisbane, some restrictions will remain in place across Queensland as the state is "not out of the woods yet".

This includes mandatory mask-wearing in indoor spaces such as shopping centres, supermarkets, indoor workplaces and public transport until April 15, and mandatory seating at hospitality venues.

Gatherings at homes will also be restricted to no more than 30 people for the same period.

Businesses can reopen and events can still go ahead, so long as they have a COVID-safe plan in place. Church services and Easter Mass can also go ahead, provided they follow the one per two square metres rule.