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a complete vaccination Sydney Woman told ‘excruciating’ pain of not seeing her dying sister Perth which results in Western Australiahard limit off.
Chantal Robertson’s sister Natalie was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2020 and is now being treated in palliative care.
Ms Robertson has been told that her sister may only have a few days to live, but cannot go to WA to say goodbye as the state takes all passengers from there. NSW ‘high risk’.
The Sydneysider already has his booster dose, but is not eligible to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival due to WA Premier Mark McGowan’s harsh border stance.
She told 2GB, ‘What’s lacking here is that we have a family member who is loved and I don’t understand why there’s no way to say goodbye.
Mr McGowan last week abandoned plans to open to the rest of the country on February 5, citing low third dose rates in WA and a surge in Omicron cases in eastern states.
Sydney woman Chantal Robertson with her sister Natalie, who is dying of colon cancer, in WA. Ms Robertson cannot travel to WA to say goodbye as the state classifies all NSW travelers as ‘high risk’.
“We’ve been told by her palliative care team that she doesn’t have much time left,” Ms Robertson said.
He said that even if he is allowed to fly in WA and quarantine, it will be too late.
‘It could be a few hours, it could be a few days. Even though, 14 days isn’t going to cut it, I can’t quarantine,’ she said.
‘I won’t be there for her when she dies, and I probably won’t even make it to the funeral… It’s a painful situation.’
She said her sister had gotten to the point where she was going in and out of consciousness, and that online video calls between the pair were insufficient.
‘It’s not something that can be driven by FaceTime anymore. It needs to be aired personally,’ she said.
Instead of reopening next month, WA will implement a relaxation in travel exemptions from February 5 to allow people to enter the state.
WA Premier Mark McGowan last week abandoned plans to open to the rest of the country on February 5, citing low third dose rates in WA and a rise in Omicron cases in the eastern states.
Ms Robertson said she understood the state government’s stand, noting that she saved her sister from Covid during the pandemic.
“Having strict boundaries meant she could lead a normal life without the fear of COVID, and the level of care she received remained the same as there was no pressure on her hospital system,” he said.
‘But we need to be there when we face situations like mine – we can’t replay these milestones.’
Despite WA’s strict border policies, the state reported 13 new local COVID cases on Monday.
Meanwhile, WA Health is monitoring two ships off the WA coast after both reported that they likely had COVID cases on board.
All the positive crew members have been isolated in their respective cabins.
The state will instead open in phases with an expanded list of relaxation criteria (pictured)