Relive the milestone moments of the Howard Springs Covid quarantine facility
From whining Karens to Olympic heroes: they’re the people who spent up to two weeks of their lives in Howard Springs. Relive the facility’s best (and worst) moments.
Northern Territory
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THE Howard Springs Quarantine Facility is set to close next week but is likely to remain on standby for at least another year.
The facility, also known as the Centre for National Resilience, has been used as the nation’s forefront quarantine facility since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
In that time it has housed about 64,000 quarantine residents including celebrities and the Australian Olympic team.
The facility housed almost 42,000 domestic residents for quarantine and isolation, while almost 22,000 residents have undertaken quarantine under the international repatriation program.
However, due to dwindling use and low case numbers the NT government has announced it will close as of July 1.
The federal government has also announced they will pay the NT government $5m over the next financial year to keep the centre on standby.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said on Thursday the facility had achieved its aim of keeping people safe.
“The government has always, and will always do what it needs to do to keep Territorians safe,” Ms Fyles said.
“The Centre for National Resilience helped put the NT on the national and global stage, providing care for Australians and international repatriates in the most uncertain of times.
“The closing of the facility symbolises not only the importance it played in keeping our community safe but also how far we have come transitioning from living under the pandemic to simply living with the pandemic.”
Last August the NT government hinted the need for the pandemic shelter would continue for some time putting out a five year bus tender.
Timeline of Howard Springs Quarantine Facility
While often viewed as the gold-standard for containing Covid in repatriated Australians during the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the Howard Springs facility was not without its issues, scandals and global attention.
SEE A TIMELINE OF SOME OF THE QUARANTINE FACILITY’S MOST NOTABLE MOMENTS:
PRE-2020: The Howard Springs village was originally built in 2012 as worker accommodation for the Inpex construction crew. About 3500 fly-in, fly-out workers stayed here and it is estimated to have cost $600m to build.
In 2019, it was handed back to the NT government.
FEBRUARY 2020: Evacuation flights from Wuhan arrived at Christmas Island and Howard Springs for 14 days quarantine. AUSMAT teams ran the centre.
Later that month Australians from the Diamond Princess cruise ship were taken to Howard Springs. Positive cases were recorded in quarantine and sent back to their home states.
OCTOBER 2020: Returning Australians from overseas, including flights from China, India, United Kingdom, South Africa and North America were brought to the facility. Capacity was for 500 people per fortnight.
DECEMBER 2021: Capacity was increased to 850 people per fortnight.
APRIL 2021: The NT News revealed quarantine bus drivers were not being routinely tested for Covid. Meanwhile international celebrities call the facility home as they travel to Australia.
MAY 2021: NT Health took over operations and named it the Centre for National Resilience. Capacity increased to 2000 per fortnight.
JULY 2021: Initial reports from Instagram accounts on the ground suggest a general disdain for the catering provided.
Complaints about the food flood in, with one user even taking to the social media platform to review and rate the meals out of ten.
AUGUST 2021: The Centre for National Resilience gained global recognition when the Aussie Olympians returning from Tokyo spent their quarantine periods.
Internationally-renowned DJ Tigerlily joins the trend of sharing balcony workouts while quaranting. Yoga was also a popular choice of exercise to pass the time.
AUGUST 22 2021: The NT government put out a bus service tender to Howard Springs and the Todd facility stipulated to last five years
OCTOBER 2021: AFL star Eddie Betts receives a formal warning for breaching the parameters of his stay, by “chasing one of his five kids” off the veranda of his accomodation.
NOVEMBER 2021:An elderly man dies after sculling vodka
Five people abscond from Howard Springs in a week. All were located shortly after.
The facility, and how Australia handled was likened to concentration camps by overseas observers.
DECEMBER 2021: A woman in her 50’s died at the facility, which Health Minister Natasha Fyles confirmed was not related to Covid.
JUNE 2022: Quarantine facility to close on July 1, with the Federal government spending $5m to keep it on standby.
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