Brisbane travellers rejoice at early release from Howard Springs quarantine facility after NT government revokes hot spot status
RECENT travellers to Brisbane rejoiced on Monday as they were released from the Howard Springs quarantine facility after a short stay.
Northern Territory
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RECENT travellers to Brisbane rejoiced on Monday as they were released from the Howard Springs quarantine facility after a short stay.
People who arrived in the NT from Greater Brisbane area from Friday were forced into quarantine as the area was declared a COVID-19 hot spot that morning.
However, the NT removed the hot spot status at 11am on Monday after Queensland reported zero new cases in the community and announced the end of its strict three-day lockdown.
“Obviously the fact that there is no community transmission (in Queensland) is the key reason we can remove the hotspot,” Chief Minister Michael Gunner said at a press conference on Monday.
Almost 400 people were released from quarantine facilities in Darwin and Alice Springs shortly after.
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Territory residents were chuffed to be picked up from the facility by family members and taxis and taken home.
Territorians Dr Vipin Tayal, Dr Puja Gupta and their daughters Kavya Tayal and Medha Tayal had their holiday plans interrupted by the border closure and had been in Howard Springs since Saturday.
Dr Gupta said they were expecting to receive a bill for their stay.
“If we had gotten there a day before we wouldn’t have had to pay,” she said.
The family said the quarantine experience had been relatively pleasant, except for Kavya who wasn’t a fan of the food.
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“It was very very bad,” she said.
“The first thing I’m going to eat now is noodles.”
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