At a recent press conference, NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner confirmed the teenagers, aged 15, 16 and 17, were detained and then tested again which came back negative.
He said all three were from the Binjari community near Katherine and had been sent into quarantine as close contacts of positive cases.
NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker said officers found the trio on the edge of Palmerston and arrested them after a chase on foot.
He said the young people are still being interviewed but “early indications” were they had not had any contact with members of the public.
“The health risk to the community was very low, so that does give cause for comfort. But there is absolutely no excuse for the actions of these three this morning.”
This morning police said a search was underway after three people reportedly scaled a fence at the quarantine centre and escaped at around 4:30am.
Gunner said the isolation in quarantine was “pretty hard for some people … used to being close to family and community.”
He said the escape could mean an extension of the time the teenagers were required to stay in quarantine.
“Absconding from Howard Springs isn’t just dangerous — it is incredibly stupid,” he said.
“Because we will catch you and there will be consequences.”
The escape comes days after a 27-year-old man escaped the facility by scaling a fence and heading for the Mitchell Street party strip in a waiting vehicle.
The man tested negative but the incident is still under investigation, with police searching for the driver of the vehicle involved.
Commissioner Chalker said CCTV coverage would be increased at the facility, but it was not possible for officers to be stationed at all possible exit points.
He said fines of $5,024 applied to breaches of a Chief Health Officer direction.
He also said health teams would discuss whether some people in the facility could have more contact to combat the isolation that “may [have been] a trigger” for the young people’s escape.
“I also want to point to the overwhelming compliance that we’ve had, given several hundred people have been placed into the Centre of National Resilience linked to the clusters from Robinson River, Katherine, Binjari and Rockhole,” he said.
“That compliance continues to be a testament to the large majority.”
Unity News Network (UNN) Staff Writer | To find out more details about our staff, please head to the About Us section on our website.
