‘It depends’: Schoolies week on edge as Queensland health authorities monitor Gold Coast covid spread

Two new local Covid cases have been detected as fears mount over the future of the Gold Coast Schoolies event.

The fate of this year’s Schoolies celebrations on the Gold Coast will hang in the balance for the next seven days, with the event to be decided on whether a worrying Glitter Strip cluster has been contained.

Queensland recorded another two community covid cases on Friday, while authorities are keeping a close eye on the Gold Coast ahead of what would be a major influx of visitors.

While there were no new cases on the Gold Coast, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was mindful of the potential for disaster if a spread occurred during the three-week Schoolies event, which starts on November 20.

Noosa Police advised up to 2500 students gathered at Noosa Main Beach for Schoolies celebrations last year.

Ms Palaszczuk on Thursday had already warned new restrictions could be placed on the region after an Uber driver was revealed as a new unlinked local infection.

There were also two new exposure sites added for Robina overnight.

“We don’t want to cancel Schoolies. I want schoolies to go ahead, but it’s going to depend what’s going to happen over the next seven days,” Ms Palaszczuk said at Friday’s press conference.

The 2020 edition of Schoolies on the Gold Coast was cancelled because of the coronavirus.

There were four new covid cases in Queensland overnight, including two recorded in home quarantine, and two in quarantine from overseas.

The home quarantine cases were a young child and a teenager linked to Goondiwindi and Moree cluster.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The unlinked Gold Coast Uber driver was one of two new local cases on Thursday, prompting health authorities to urgently begin tracing the driver’s passengers.

The driver was vaccinated but the Queensland Premier expressed concern for community transmission given the driver’s access to a wide number of residents while infectious for three days.

“If we see more unlinked community transmission on the Gold Coast in the next 24 to 48 hours, we may have to put in some further restrictions,” Ms Palaszczuk said on Thursday.

“People should consider wearing a mask on public transport on the Gold Coast but also if they are in crowded situations.

“We want to protect people on the Gold Coast but we do have two more unlinked cases there.”

Juls Egan from Machans Beach at a Queensland Health pop-up Covid-19 Vaccination centre. Picture: Emily Barker

The Premier said the relatively high vaccination rate on the Gold Coast – with first doses at about 79 per cent and double doses 66 per cent – were working in favour of the community, though many people still remained vulnerable.

“They’re not out of the woods yet ... we have to monitor this very carefully because we know that community transmission can happen,” she said.

The threat of new restrictions came less than 24 hours after Queensland eased the mandatory mask-wearing rule when the state passed the 80 per cent threshold for those who had received their first Covid vaccine.

The borders are due to completely reopen to vaccinated visitors on December 17, when an 80 per cent double dose rate is expected to be achieved.

Queensland is expected to hit the 70 per cent double dose mark on Monday.

- additional reporting by James Hall