‘We’re stuck here for 14 days, but we will enjoy ourselves together’: Teen spends Christmas in home isolation
A TEENAGER girl has become the first person to be given a medical exemption mid-quarantine
Northern Territory
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A 17-YEAR-OLD girl has become the first person to be given a medical exemption mid-quarantine after being forced into the Howard Springs facility when Sydney was declared a hot spot on Sunday evening.
Hayley Ryan-Leach said she was relieved to be spending Christmas in home isolation with her dad, who will be spending the next 14 days quarantining with her, rather than both of them being alone.
“I would’ve gone crazy, I wouldn’t have lasted in there by myself,” she said. “It’s heaps better here with Dad. We’re stuck here for 14 days, but we will enjoy ourselves together.”
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Her dad, Todd Leach, said he feared for his daughter’s mental wellbeing because she had a history of anxiety and depression.
“I’ve got to self-isolate with her because she’s not responsible enough to look after herself as she’s a minor,” he said.
“It would have been over Christmas.
“That’s why it was so critical to get out, otherwise she’d have spent Christmas by herself.”
Mr Leach said it was the perfect example of why minors shouldn’t have to quarantine if they had somewhere they could self-isolate.
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“For their mental state, you should release kids, but every case would have to be looked at on its own merit,” he said.
“I can’t leave this front door, now I’m under 14-day isolation too, but it’s the best trade-off I could have got.”
Health Minister Natasha Fyles said she wouldn’t comment on individual cases, but said quarantine would be maintained in any format needed to keep the Territory safe.
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