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Speaker 1: Right now though. Joining me on the line is Matt

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Speaker 1: Cunningham from Sky News. Good morning to you, Matt. Matt

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Speaker 1: out there at Howard Springs. Is there much more that

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Speaker 1: we know at this stage?

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Speaker 2: Well, I there's been a pretty agnificant in this operation

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Speaker 2: under here. I've just been standing on the corner of

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Speaker 2: the house Thrown and Whitewood Road. Pretty one who's been

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Speaker 2: out here knowed how it's current.

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Speaker 1: We we just seem to be having a bit of

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Speaker 1: an issue with your audio at the moment, Matt, for

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Speaker 1: some reason. I'm not sure what's going on. It may

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Speaker 1: not be the best coverage out there. We've spoken before

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Speaker 1: about there not being four G for our rural residents.

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Speaker 1: Hopefully we can hear you properly now, can.

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Speaker 2: You hear me? I can?

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Speaker 1: I can hear you now.

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Speaker 2: Sorry, I'm just on the corner of Whitewood Road and

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Speaker 2: Howard Springs Road and there's been a significant police operation

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Speaker 2: underway here in the last half an hour or so.

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Speaker 2: They've just packed up now, but basically they've been searching

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Speaker 2: every single car that have been coming along would road. Now,

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Speaker 2: people who were familiar with the Howard Springs quarantine facility

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Speaker 2: would know that it sits basically in the corner between

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Speaker 2: Howard Springs Road and Whitewood Road, and so police have

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Speaker 2: basically we've been searching every car. They've been searching in boots,

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Speaker 2: they've been searching boats, they've been searching the backs of

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Speaker 2: trucks as they've been coming through this area. At one

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Speaker 2: stage traffic was banked up for several hundred meters along

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Speaker 2: Whitewood Road as police. As police undertook those searches, they've

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Speaker 2: just packed up. Now we did get that statement for

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Speaker 2: police you'd have seen this morning Katie confirming that three

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Speaker 2: people have absconded from the Howard Springs quarantine facility. Now

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Speaker 2: we know that the report of that was at four

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Speaker 2: forty five this morning. We're not sure how long before

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Speaker 2: that they believe those people actually left the facility, but

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Speaker 2: it will be a bit of a concern given in

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Speaker 2: just the past couple of days, Katie, we've seen there's

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Speaker 2: authorities and people actually they believe contracting COVID nineteen within

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Speaker 2: how It Springs due to some family in England. So

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Speaker 2: obviously that lease operation to try and track those people down.

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Speaker 2: He's on in Earnest at the moment and they'll be

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Speaker 2: hoping that they can get hold of them as quickly

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Speaker 2: as they possible. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, And we'd also obviously read in that statement from

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory Police that they had said that they're

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Speaker 1: currently confirming the absconder's identities prior to releasing further information.

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Speaker 1: But I suppose the big thing that we don't know

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Speaker 1: at this point is whether any any of those three

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Speaker 1: absconders have or have not tested positive to COVID at

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Speaker 1: this point.

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Speaker 2: That's right, and that's going to be something that the

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Speaker 2: people are going to be hanging on that information. I mean,

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Speaker 2: the last thing we would want given out, well, we've

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Speaker 2: done keeping COVID at bay here in the Northern Churchy

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Speaker 2: and the last thing we want three people who are

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Speaker 2: positive to COVID nineteen out and about in the community.

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Speaker 2: But we'll await that detail from the police. Of course,

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Speaker 2: we know that there was one man, a man from

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Speaker 2: South Africa at the weekend. Also it's tested positive to

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Speaker 2: the omicron variant of COVID nineteen. Now police haven't given

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Speaker 2: the detail about which part of how it's springs the

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Speaker 2: absconder is from. We know that it's separated into those

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Speaker 2: international arrivals and are coming on those repatriation flights and

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Speaker 2: those domestic arrivals and people who've been flown in from

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Speaker 2: communities after they've been deemed in close contacts of people

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Speaker 2: who've contracted COVID nineteenth. So there's a bit more detail

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Speaker 2: that we still need to know at the moment, probably

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Speaker 2: to get a better understanding of exactly how serious this

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Speaker 2: situation is. That it's pretty clear at the moment that

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Speaker 2: police are taking it very serious.

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Speaker 1: Well, absolutely, and as they should be, you know, obviously

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Speaker 1: with that traffic operation trying to make sure that they're

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Speaker 1: searching all those cars. The fact that it's sort of

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Speaker 1: wrapped up now does make you wonder whether they've been

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Speaker 1: able to locate these absconders, but obviously no word on

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Speaker 1: that at this stage, or or you know, whether they've

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Speaker 1: they've sort of gotten away further than what we may

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Speaker 1: have thought.

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Speaker 2: No, no where this occasion we get and of course

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Speaker 2: it's only a few days since and nice to get

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Speaker 2: out of the house. Drink quarantine facility will be and

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Speaker 2: ended up in nightclubs.

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Speaker 1: So that's exactly right.

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Speaker 2: They like to call it the Center for National Resilience.

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Speaker 2: It's not proving too resilient at the moment.

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Speaker 1: No, and this is, you know, it is a real concern.

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Speaker 1: I think that you know that previous to these incidents,

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Speaker 1: it's it's you know, been able to keep people in

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Speaker 1: there fairly safely and we haven't had too many warries.

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Speaker 1: But right now, I know there will be a lot

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Speaker 1: of people listening this morning who are pretty worried about

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Speaker 1: the fact that we don't know exactly who these three

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Speaker 1: absconders are and whether they have or have not got COVID.

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Speaker 2: Yep, and we will wait on that information. Hopefully we

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Speaker 2: get that through from the police soon. Yep.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely well. Matt Cunningham from Sky News. Always appreciate your time, mate,

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for crossing with us today. Thank

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Speaker 1: you