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Despite fears of a drug and violent rampage on the Gold Coast, teens attending this year’s Schoolies are being labeled the best-behaved bunch ever, as some even drop out of the often wild Year 12 festivities early after contracting Covid-19 incurred.
Videos posted to social media on Thursday show that many students who had arrived to party were instead locked in their rooms due to Covid outbreaks.
Some even left the main playground of Schoolies, the Gold Coast and other beach towns early after receiving positive Covid test results.
Despite fears of sex and drug eruption, teens attending this year’s Schoolies are labeled the best-behaved group ever
Videos posted to social media on Thursday showed many students who had instead arrived to party found themselves locked in their rooms.
An estimated 25,000 students came to the Gold Coast this year alone.
Thousands also went to Byron Bay, the Sunshine Coast, Airlie Beach and Lorne and even further afield to Fiji and Bali.
Covid cases spiked in Queensland just as Year 12 began to arrive, surpassing 10,000 for the first time in months.
Friday’s figures show that the number of new cases has remained high at 10,082 during the seven days to Nov. 23.
Breakouts are now apparently common among the disappointed teens.
“If we get Covid so we can’t go to beach parties anymore,” was the caption of a video posted by two girls on Thursday.
It showed friends in feigned desperation and indignation, pounding the floor and then laughing, trapped inside as the bright sun poured into their room.
Another teen posted a video titled ‘day five of Schoolies and you just tested positive for Covid’.
Two other teenage girls posted a similar video expressing their disappointment and saying they were leaving now.
“Position: You came to Schoolies for a good time, only to feel bad and both test positive for Covid today, so she’s leaving tonight and I’m leaving a day early.”
In latest Covid-19 uptick in Omicron cases, one expert urges partygoers to take precautions (pictured, Gold Coast partygoers)
Gold Coast entrepreneurs described a drop in usual trade despite the presence of school dropouts, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.
One of the exceptions is the BWS store on Hanlan Street in Surfer’s Paradise.
A BWS employee said sales of Guava Vodka Cruisers had gone “through the roof.”
An employee of Surfer’s Paradise Tattoo said the students were getting “responsible” tattoos and piercings.
“A guy came in and got a rose for his grandma, and someone got a butterfly for his mom,” says Kangi, a piercer at the salon.
Long lines formed at an airbrush tattoo parlor on Cavile Avenue as teens expressed a preference for temporary ink.
Most of the official events took place in open-air venues, minimizing the risk of contracting the disease (pictured, guys get the supplies)
School leavers enjoy Schoolies in Surfers Paradise, where arrests increase over the week
Michael Kanj, manager of Hawaiian restaurant Poke California, said this year’s students behaved well compared to previous years.
Ahead of the festivities, Covid experts were keen to warn of the virus.
Professor Nigel McMillan, Griffith University’s infectious disease expert, told the Brisbane Times that most official events took place outside, minimizing the risk of contracting the disease.
Professor McMillan advised revelers to adhere to the outdoor events and encouraged the basics of hand washing and general hygiene.
Meanwhile, Police Secretary Mark Ryan has asked uninvited revelers to celebrate the festivities in a big way.
“Nobody likes a ‘Toolie,'” Mr. Ryan said. “Leave this week to the young people who have worked hard and deserve to celebrate their achievements responsibly.”
Toolies are young men, who have dropped out of school, who sneak into school events to have sex with female students.
Before the event, a sordid school checklist aimed at teen partygoers appeared online, sparking outrage and concern from parents.
About 25,000 people have gathered in Surfers Paradise (pictured) for the annual Schoolies celebration
It outlined 10 challenges for boys in attendance, including a variety of sexually explicit acts, sexual assault, and drug use.
The first item on his list is “drawing a line on a bitch’s ass.” Drawing a line is a reference to snorting cocaine or amphetamine.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said students generally behaved well despite an increase in arrests after a quiet first day on Monday 20 November.