People in Brisbane will be able to visit aged care homes and hold gatherings of up to 30 people after Queensland went 14 days without community spread of COVID-19. Deputy Premier Steven Miles says the state recorded no new cases in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday and had only five active cases. Restrictions on visits to aged care homes and hospitals and a 10-person gathering limit in Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich will be lifted from 1am on Friday. "So people can go ahead and organise that house party for Friday night," Dr Miles said. Eight local government areas have been under tighter health measures for just over a month after an outbreak at Brisbane's Youth Detention Centre in Wacol. The cluster, which spread to include a correctional training facility and Ipswich Hospital, led to 55 infections and restrictions being placed across southeast Queensland. They included a ban on visitors to aged care residents and a 10-person limit on home gatherings. Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young was pleased with how the recent outbreak had been bought under control with contract-tracing and testing. "When I saw where we got those cases, and where they were spreading, I was amazed that we were able to contain it," Dr Young said. "It was due to an enormous amount of hard work by the community adhering to all of the requirements but also the public health units." Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called on the federal government not to withdraw Australian soldiers from Queensland's border checkpoints on September 30. The pullout will be just one day before more than 150,000 extra NSW residents will be able to visit Queensland. "We would have to source extra people for the police on the borders. It's a big job but that job is keeping Queenslanders safe, so I'll wait to see the response from the prime minister," she said. Dr Miles claimed federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was wrong when he told a radio station on Thursday that the state government hadn't requested an extension. The deputy premier handed out letters showing the state government had twice asked the federal government to extend the ADF employment until October 19. "This is yet another example of a federal government minister being sent out by the prime minister to attack our government," Dr Miles said. Federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton lashed out at the deputy premier, saying his accusations against Mr Frydenberg were unfounded. "It is like watching a juvenile go out there on a university campus and engage in university politics," he said. "He is supposed to be the health minister and the deputy premier of this state and he is acting like a school child." Dr Miles said the federal government was making political attacks on the Queensland government ahead of the October 31 election. "The ADF is continuing to support a number of other states and territories with their border restrictions," the deputy premier said. "So you've got to ask what is so different about Queensland. Why do we have this conga line of Morrison government MPs rocking up here to criticise our very strong and effective COVID restrictions?" Queenslanders go to the polls on October 31. Australian Associated Press
