In unsurprising news, the 2020 instalment of Schoolies has been cancelled after Queensland recorded three new cases of coronavirus overnight.
I truly feel for the graduating class of 2020. Not only did they have to navigate their way through the HSC in the midst of a global pandemic, but they won’t have the freedom to let off their steam at a Double Black-fuelled Surfers Paradise rumspringa.
This morning, QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed that the state recorded three new cases of coronavirus overnight, with two popping up on the Gold Coast and one in Forest Lake. All cases have been linked to the growing Queensland Corrections Services Academy cluster in Wacol.
To tackle the growing cluster, the state has made the call to limit outdoor events on the Gold Coast to ten people. Gathos in residences — like holiday rentals, AirBnB’s etc— will be capped to ten people statewide from November 21st to December 11th.
The rest of the state is currently restricted to gatherings of 30 people.
Palaszczuk said large events like Schoolies pose a “high risk” for infection. “This is a mass event. It poses a high risk – high risk not only for the people who attend, all the young people, but also all the people they come in contact with, and of course their families and their friends and their grandparents,” she shared.
“So there will be, unfortunately, no concerts, no organised events, because there can be no mass gatherings.”
Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young offered her sympathy to Year 12s, “They’ve had a really difficult year,” Dr Young said. “This is a rite of passage. Your last year of school is such an important year to get you prepared for going out and joining adulthood.”
