EDITORIAL: Howard Springs in spotlight for Olympic Games

The news hundreds of returning Australian athletes will be quarantining at Howard Springs will be a chance for the NT government to show how well it’s operating the facility.

FOR much of the pandemic, the Howard Springs quarantine camp has played a pivotal role in ensuring Australia keeps Covid-19 at bay.

It has been rightly held up as the gold standard of quarantine facilities, with Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia all wanting to build copycat facilities.

So it’s little wonder athletes competing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics will be using Howard Springs to complete their two weeks of iso.

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Many will be returning while the Games are still going, forced to watch from their dongas.

What's encouraging is that the 200 athletes don’t seem too bothered about having to stay at Howard Springs.

In fact, they seem rather pleased.

The ‘Centre for National Resilience’, as politicians love to call it, has earnt a reputation of being far better at isolating Covid-19 than hotels in other capital cities.

Inpex Howard Springs quarantine faciloity SUPPLIED

There is yet to be a leak of Covid-19 from the centre (touch wood!).

But now that the Northern Territory government is running the show, the pressure will be on local authorities to ensure the centre is run tight and athletes receive the best care and treatment.

Since the facility transferred to NT control, this newspaper has received troubling reports that standards have slipped.

We hope this is rectified before the Games.

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