Howard Springs escapee cops $5000 fine, as Acting Chief Minister Nicole Manison praises Tik Tok ‘narks’

UPDATE: A WOMAN who escaped quarantine at Howard Springs yesterday has been fined by police.

• Woman caught by police after escaping Howard Springs quarantine facility
• Five people in NT quarantine test positive for COVID-19

UPDATE: A WOMAN who escaped quarantine at Howard Springs has been fined $5000 by police.

The woman arrived in the Northern Territory on January 2 from the Greater Sydney region.

At around 5.25pm on Tuesday the Joint Emergency Service Communication Centre received a call from a man staying in the facility, stating a woman was attempting to scale the fence.

Police located the woman 200m from the facility in the vicinity of Howard Springs Road and Whitewood Road. She was taken back to the facility.

Incident Controller Acting Commander Sachin Sharma said police were happy with security at Howard Springs.

“This is a rare occurrence and the measures in place have proved successful. We are comfortable with the current security arrangements in place,” he said.

“The woman was located within 15 minutes, and during this time posed no risk to any members of the public. She will remain under guard for the remainder of her time at the facility.”

EARLIER: A WOMAN, 33, who tried to escape from the Howard Springs quarantine facility will cop a $5000 fine, Acting Chief Minister Nicole Manison said today.

Ms Manison also thanked others quarantining at the facility for dobbing the absconder in to authorities and said she was confident the incident would not become a regular occurrence.

“There is absolutely no excuse for leaving the quarantine facility,” she said.

“She’s going to cop a $5000 fine.

“And my message to anybody who is not going to comply with the rules of the Northern Territory is very clear. Do not come here, and if you do not comply while you are here, you’re going to face a hefty fine.

“This is a very rare event. We’re still going to be investigating it just to make sure that we’re really confident with all the elements of security there”

Ms Manison thanked self-proclaimed Tik Tok “narks” who filmed the escape, saying they dobbed the woman in so they didn’t lose “swimming pool privileges”.

Several people in quarantine posted videos of her escape attempt on social media and alerted authorities.

“They’re in there doing the right thing and they understand how serious COVID-19 is,” Ms Manison said.

“(Police) didn’t muck around. They caught this person within 15 minutes, and they were dealt with and they are being dealt with today.”

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Northern Territory Police Acting Commander Sachin Sharma said the woman had been at the Howard Springs facility for two days before she attempted to escape.

“She is from Victoria but arrived in the NT from a hot spot,” Cdr Sharma said.

“She was noticed by residents and the security officers to be attempting to leave the facility and they alerted police.

“She was located nearby within 15 mins and returned to the facility. Police are investigating.”

Deputy Opposition Leader Gerard Maley said he feared the incident could show others how easy it was to escape the facility.

“This was not a cleverly planned, covert escape under the cover of darkness,” he said.

“The woman simply hopped the fence in broad daylight and strolled out.”

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The incident came as five new positive COVID-19 cases were recorded in the Northern Territory, taking the total from repatriation flights to 53 cases.

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Originally published as Howard Springs escapee cops $5000 fine, as Acting Chief Minister Nicole Manison praises Tik Tok ‘narks’