Note : the Premier and Chief Health Officer are refusing to say if lockdown will be lifted Monday, even if no new cases are recorded.

From 6:00pm tonight people living in Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands will be required to stay home until 6:00pm Monday in a bid to stop the spread of the highly-infectious United Kingdom strain of the virus.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced Greater Brisbane, which includes the council areas of Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands, will go into lockdown from 6pm Friday to 6pm Monday.

The Police Minister The Hon Mark Ryan has updated 101.5 on the situation and his statement can be heard below.

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The UK strain is thought to be around 70 per cent more contagious than the original strain. That’s 1.7 times more contagious

Residents must stay at home except for four key reasons – to leave for essential work, health care, shopping and exercise in your local area.

Once the lockdown begins, you cannot leave Greater Brisbane.

You can only leave Greater Brisbane during lockdown if it’s an emergency situation, if you have an exemption from the Chief Health Officer, or if you are facilitating an essential service to occur.

Police have warned motorists they will be intercepting vehicles travelling on major highways and questioning people of their movements.

Fines of $1,334 apply to residents caught travelling outside Greater Brisbane for no legitimate reason during lockdown.

This means if you are in the five local government areas after 6:00pm on Friday, you must stay there until the lockdown ends at 6:00pm on Monday January 11.

Masks have been mandated across all five local government areas during the lockdown period.

This means it’s mandatory for you to wear a mask the second you leave your home, unless you are aged 12 years or under.

The only place you don’t need to wear a mask is at home.

Fines of $200 apply to those not wearing a mask.

You must wear a mask while:

Driving your car, bicycle, moped, scooter, motorcycle, horse or walking

Doing exercise

In workplaces

At weddings or funerals

Shopping at supermarkets and shopping centres

On public transport or shared transport

Uber and Taxis you must sit in the back seat and you must wear a mask.

Gatherings are limited to no more than two people.

Anyone who has visited Brisbane since January 2 and has now moved on to other parts of the state or country will also be required to quarantine for the next three days.

Two visitors will be permitted to visit homes during this period but non-essential businesses will be forced to shutdown.

Funerals and weddings can go ahead — but they will be limited to a restricted numbers of guests.

Weddings can only involve a maximum of 10 people — including the celebrant and witnesses.

While funerals can only have a maximum of 20 people.

People are being urged not to visit gyms or attend local community sporting events.

Community sport has also been placed on hold in Greater Brisbane for the next three days.

All cafes, pubs and restaurants will be banned from having any dine-in customers — but they will still be able to offer takeaway service.

Places of worship, cinemas, and any other entertainment and recreation venues including gyms will also be closed.

Weekend sport has also been cancelled.

All businesses will be limited to one person per 4 square metres.

Supermarkets are enforcing limits on staple items.

Masks will also be mandatory for anyone in greater Brisbane leaving their home, those who fail to do so will face $200 fines.

A child under 12 does not need to wear a mask.

Health authorities yesterday also banned any visitors to aged care facilities, hospitals, disability accommodation services or correctional facilities in these areas.

Health authorities want to limit as many people as possible moving about in the community, but if you must leave for any of the above reasons you will be required to wear a mask.

Police would be out in the community to ensure people abided by the mandatory mask direction in the Greater Brisbane region from 6pm tonight until 6am on Monday.

Police Commissioner Katrina Carroll said police would be making sure everyone was complying with the directives.

Nine new coronavirus cases were detected overnight, all in hotel quarantine.

Ms Palaszczuk acknowledged it was going to be “tough” on everybody during those three days, including on local businesses.

people living in the Greater Brisbane region to avoid visiting the elderly, unless they were providing essential care.

If you normally would provide care to a vulnerable person, think through what the risks are,

Residents have been urged not to panic buy saying all shops were fully stocked and urged people to not buy up big.

The lock down will be under review on Monday with any changes announced then.

It comes after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel in Brisbane tested positive yesterday to the mutant strain and was in the community for five days.

All residents in those areas need to stay at home unless it is for essential work, providing healthcare for a vulnerable person, essential shopping or to exercise in your local neighbourhood.

If you do go outside, masks in those areas will be mandatory, however children under the age of 12 are exempt.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was a harsh but necessary decision.

“Think of it as a long weekend at home, we need to do this,” she said.

“If we do not do this now it could end up being a 30-day lock down.”

People living in the lockdown areas will be allowed two visitors at their homes.

“Let’s be in this together, let’s stay at home, look at it as a long weekend at home with your family and friends,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Queensland recorded nine new cases of coronavirus overnight, however all were in hotel quarantine.

Others at risk of infection to self-isolate

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has asked anybody who has been in Greater Brisbane since January 2, but are now elsewhere in the state, to self-isolate.

“You isolate yourself for those three days,” she said.

“If you are a local resident but have gone off holidaying on the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast or Cairns, please stay where you are for three days and do not move around your area.”

Further restrictions

For the next three days, funerals will be limited to 20 people and weddings 10 people.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young also asked people to not go to any non-essential businesses like hairdressers, nail salons, cinemas and gyms.

Weekend sport has also been called off.

“We need to find every single case now,” Dr Young said.

“Until we’ve found all those people, we can’t relax.”

Dr Young said the new strain was 70 per cent more contagious, currently one-in-50 people in the United Kingdom have COVID-19.

She said evidence coming out of the UK so far showed that the variant would not cause more severe disease nor increased mortality, nor would it affect the efficiency of the vaccines developed so far.

“Their health system can’t manage the numbers,” she said.

“So, if you can’t manage the numbers, although this doesn’t cause any more severe disease, if you can’t provide oxygen and the basic care that those people need, then the consequences will be worse.”