Australian police successfully recaptured three teenagers who escaped from a quarantine facility Wednesday after they had tested negative for COVID-19.
The teenagers scaled a fence to break out of the Centre for National Resilience in Howard Springs, Northern Territory, Australian police said, according to the BBC, where they were being held in quarantine because they had been in close contact with individuals who had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The teens were Australian Aboriginals from the nearby Binjari community, ABC News reported, many of whom had been sent to the quarantine facility following an outbreak of COVID-19 in their hometown of Katherine. (RELATED: Australia’s Home Quarantine App Uses Facial Recognition Technology To Make Sure You Haven’t Left Your House)
Police officers and soldiers patrol a popular running track in Melbourne on August 4, 2020 after the state announced new restrictions as the city battles fresh outbreaks of the COVID-19 coronavirus. – Melbourne is now enduring the country’s most restrictive virus-control measures, including an overnight curfew, forced closure of non-essential businesses and mandatory mask-wearing as hundreds of new cases are recorded daily. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)
Police caught up with the trio after a manhunt that stretched several hours and chased them down on foot in a nearby town, according to ABC.
“Absconding from Howard Springs isn’t just dangerous — it is incredibly stupid,” Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said in a press conference, according to ABC. “Because we will catch you and there will be consequences.”
Gunner said that the teens’ escape could mean that they will have to stay in quarantine for longer than expected. Northern Territory Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker said police would increase CCTV coverage of quarantine facilities in response, ABC reported.
“This the first time we’ve had to use the centre for large numbers of people from an Aboriginal community, but it probably won’t be the last time,” Gunner said.
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