Women have flocked to nail salons for manicures and pedicures while others have enjoyed the sunshine with a day at the park as coronavirus restrictions continue to ease across Queensland.
Almost every seat was taken at salons in Brisbane on Saturday morning, as customers deprived of professional nail care since the country went into lockdown on March 25 rushed in for a touch-up.
Beauty and nail salons can open for a maximum of ten people at a time while home opens and auctions can resume along with general retail.
Cafes, public parks and playgrounds also buzzed with activity as Queenslanders headed outside to embrace the sunshine.
Cafes, public parks and playgrounds also buzzed with activity as Queenslanders headed outside to embrace the sunshine
Alex Whitehead (left), Willem Stewart (centre) and Jack Keegan (right) are seen playing a game in New Farm Park in Brisbane
A group of men enjoy a beer and a meal at a pub in Brisbane as coronavirus restrictions
All hands on deck: Customers outnumbered staff at one Brisbane nail salon as woman rushed to revamp their nails after weeks in isolation
To reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus, some salons have erected plastic screens between employees and customers
Full capacity: An employee welcomes women waiting outside a Brisbane nail salon to come inside as another customer leaces
Restaurants and cafes can now have up to 10 people dine-in, while groups of 10 can congregate outside for recreational purposes as the state emerges from isolation.
‘It is great to see some familiar faces returning,’ Coffee Club manager Kaili Yang told AAP as she took orders from a pair of jovial regular customers at their favourite table.
The Brisbane cafe in the leafy inner-city suburb of Ascot was among the many that opened their doors to customers on Saturday.
Hand sanitiser was set up along a workspace where one woman opted for a light beige shellac
One woman appeared relaxed, gazing at her phone, while a professional nail artist pampered her feet
One woman touched up her squared acrylic nails at Jade Nail in Surfers Paradise on Saturday morning
Diners stared out towards beach as cafes reopened as part of the state one government plan to reopen businesses
The eased restrictions also saw exercise classes returning to the city’s New Farm Park, where fitness trainer Chris Tuck coached his first group in 10 weeks.
‘It’s awesome to be back together again feeding off each other’s energy,” he said of the six people he had just finished training.
Many families are also out and about as children clamber into playgrounds that had also been closed to control the spread of the virus.
‘She is loving it,’ mother-of-two Jo Williams said as she pushed her four-year-old daughter Hannah on a swing in the same park.
People flocked to Burleigh heads beach to embrace the sunny Saturday morning weather as it coincided with restrictions easing across the state
Horses and jockeys were seen back on the track for the Aquis Park Race Day at the Gold Coast Turf Club on the Gold Coast
Families stuck at home in isolation for weeks embraced the chance to get some fresh air by venturing out to a Brisbane Park
‘Both the kids have missed the outdoor activity and interacting with children.’
A maximum of 10 people can now also attend a wedding, while up to 20 are permitted at indoor funerals, and 30 at those held outside.
Road trips are also back on the agenda with residents allowed to travel up to 150km from home, increasing to 500km for those in the outback.
Groups gathered to eat outside alongside the beach in Surfers Paradise on Saturday morning as cafes are now permitted to have ten dine in customers
Young boys grabbed their skateboards and hit the ramps at Pizzey Park in Miami on the Gold Coast to celebrate the gradual reopening of the state
Fitness fanatics refilled outdoor gyms which became banned when lockdown restrictions were put in place at the end of March
Two women catching up over coffee and a meal at Crew in Burleigh Heads sat spaced metres away from a group of four
One man enjoyed a coffee out the front of a Surfers Paradise cafe which had been restricted to takeaway food and drinks until Saturday
It comes as the state recorded just one new COVID-19 case overnight after a passenger from the Coral Princess cruise ship tested positive. It brings the total number of cases diagnosed to 1055.
Just 13 remain active, five of these are in hospital with three in intensive care. Six Queenslanders have died from coronavirus.
Health minister Steven Miles said the continued low number of new cases, which were mostly people returning from overseas, suggested the first round of easing on social distancing measures two weeks ago had not led to increased transmission of the virus.
Women were seen talking outside a Brisbane house inspection after home opens and auctions resumed under the stage one plan
A group of weight lifters headed out to Kangaroo point to catch up while they did their fitness routine
Seven women and a man take part in an outdoor group fitness class in Brisbane
‘That gives us great confidence going into today,’ he told reporters.
Meanwhile, 193 people have been tested for COVID-19 in central Queensland after a nurse working at a Rockhampton aged care facility was diagnosed with the disease on Friday.
All have returned negative results, including 114 residents at the North Rockhampton Nursing Centre, where the nurse worked.
Cyclists, joggers and families all flooded out off their homes after being ordered to stay inside unless essential for eight weeks
Brisbane residents were pictured enjoying the view they ventured back out into the CBD via the City Cat ferry service
Mr Miles said it was the best result that could have been hoped for but work continues at the facility to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.
Chief health officer Jeannette Young said the case highlighted why the community needed to stay vigilant.
She said the eased social distancing restrictions could allow the virus to spread more easily in the community.
‘Which is why we must all – all 5.1 million Queenslanders – must every morning when they get up to think, have they got any symptoms,’ she said.
‘If you do, stay home and go and get tested.’
One man looked excited as he dug into cafe-cooked breakfast after weeks of in-store dining being prohibited
Friends met up to grab a coffee and go for a walk beneath Brisbane’s Storey bridge