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To be part of the trial,returning residents must satisfy suitability requirements and be prepared to arrive by air.Credit:Dan Peled

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirmed the trial in a post to social media on Wednesday afternoon,stating those taking part would also need to have returned a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of entry and subject themselves to further drive-through tests on days one,five and 12 of their 14-day stint.

Household groups will need a smartphone and will be monitored under the existinghome quarantine check-in system,initially rolled out for boarding students stuck interstate over the school holidays and expanded to close contacts of COVID-19 cases last month.

Returning residents will also have to nominate a quarantine address within the Brisbane,Moreton Bay,Sunshine Coast,Noosa,Ipswich,Logan,Gold Coast or Redland council areas deemed within safe driving distance,without stopping,from Brisbane Airport.

Others living in the property – which cannot be a holiday rental,hotel room or apartment – will also need to quarantine and undergo the testing regime.

People relocating to Queensland will not be invited to take part.

Anyone who breaches the rules of the trial will be fined and placed into hotel quarantine.

“As the Premier has stated many times,it is based on similar trials in other states,” Ms D’Ath said of the trial.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk flagged the further expansion of home quarantine on Sunday,after what Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said were some remaining tweaks to the monitoring system.

Several people took to social media groups for returning residents and those relocating to the state with news of the invitations earlier on Wednesday.

The online forums were set up after a pause on arrivals for the cohort from Victoria,NSW and the ACT in August due to stretched hotel quarantine capacity thatresulted in a significant backlog and raised the attention of government watchdogs.

Returning and relocating residents had previously been able to cross into Queensland at any time under right-of-entry clauses in border directions. They now have to be allocated arrival dates and quarantine rooms under their entry passes,with limited exemptions available for exceptional circumstances.

As of last Friday,Queensland Health had 2945 open exemption applications,down from 4228 on August 26. Police had 8310 applications for border passes awaiting assessment.

On Friday,Ms Palaszczuk said the state had increased its exemption unit to deal with thousands of applications,saying this was only necessary because of outbreaks in the southern states,which presented a “very,very difficult time for families” across the country.

The home quarantine monitoring system works by sending a daily web form to smartphones via text message that requires a response within 10 minutes. Location data from the device is also used to ensure people are at their quarantine address.

An email to one person invited to take part in the trial stated they must respond within three days or lose their chance. If not eligible or willing to take part,their existing exemption request to enter the state would still be progressed.

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