Morrison said this was in response the flattening of the COVID-19 curve and a desire to get Australia’s economy back into gear as early as possible.

As a result, some of Australia’s coronavirus restrictions will be lifted earlier than expected with state and federal leaders set to make an announcement next Friday.

Morrison said national cabinet would ease restrictions after next week’s meeting, bringing forward the decision from May 11.

“Australians have earned an early mark through the work they have done,” he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

Morrison said measures would be weighed up based on health risks and benefits to the economy.

“We can’t keep Australia under the doona. We need to be able to move ahead,” he said.

Morrison said a range of factors had gone into this decision, made by national cabinet this morning.

“Modelling, expansion of testing capacity and a testing framework, the state of our public health work force, our contact tracing capacity, a well prepared health system, personal protective equipment, drugs and other consumables and workplace training were all important in determining when this could begin to happen.

“Those measures gave us a pretty good tick today,” he said.

“We need our app update to be higher before we can say that the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle of contract tracing can be there.”

State governments will make the final call on allowing the AFL and NRL to restart after getting advice from Australia’s expert medical panel.

Morrison said the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee would guide states on the safest way for leagues to continue during the coronavirus pandemic.

Australian Border Force authorities are yet to decide whether the New Zealand Warriors can fly to Tamworth this Sunday to start training ahead of an NRL season relaunch.

Morrison’s announcement came just hours before Queenslanders are due to enjoy the first round of relaxed measures from midnight Friday.

After announcing another “zero day” of no new infections, and only eight in the past week, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today said Queensland was “smashing of the curve” of the pandemic. The tally remains at 1,033.

“This weekend is also really crucial so I really hope that everyone acts responsibly,” Palaszczuk said.

The issue with this weekend – and the public holiday on Monday – is that restrictions are being eased and people will be required to exercise their own discretion to avoid large gatherings.

From 11.59pm Friday, Queenslanders will be able to leave their homes for recreation, for example to go for a drive or ride for pleasure, have a picnic or bushwalk, and shop for non-essential items. All activities have the potential for crowds.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the reduction in active cases of COVID-90 to fewer than 80, and no new infections, “sets us up beautifully for this weekend”.

But she reiterated that people should generally stick to household groups, or if going out alone with one other person from outside the household, stay within a 50km radius of home and keep 1.5m from others.

Major shopping centres are bracing for an influx of people allowed to do non-essential shopping, and business owners will be reminded to limit clients to one per four square metre area. Extra security guards and police will be rostered on to patrol potential hotspots, which include beaches, popular parks and Brisbane’s South Bank.

Young said people would need to be smart about their destinations and avoid any large gatherings, or leave places that feel too crowded.

“It’s actually going to be quite difficult,” Young said, conceding that the prospect of large gatherings still “concern us greatly”.

“I don’t underestimate it, because if everyone decides on Saturday they want to go buy a Mother’s Day gift for the following weekend we could have problems in our shops. So people need to use a lot of common sense.”

Health Minister Steven Miles said, “let’s not mess it up, let’s keep it up”.