QUEENSLAND Health has denied a fully-vaccinated Hunter nurse the chance to attend her father's funeral, despite her vow to stay within a "family bubble" and undergo daily COVID testing.
When Sarah Stafford's Glendale-raised father Tony Boyle died suddenly last week, she applied for a quarantine exemption to attend his funeral. But Queensland Health have said she must first quarantine for two weeks. The registered nurse and mother-of-four said she could not be away from her son - who has a rare neuro-metabolic condition and is fed through a tube - for that length of time.
Ms Stafford said these Queensland government decisions were inflicting "unnecessary pain and trauma" onto families who were "trying to do the right thing".
"I can't believe this is happening in Australia right now," she said.
"There are people crossing the border illegally, doing it the wrong way. Here I am, doing it the right way and willing to undergo all the tests - and they are just not bending at all."
Queensland Health said they had to balance "care and compassion for individuals while protecting five million Queenslanders", and that their border restrictions and quarantine policies had been critical in preventing outbreaks.
"It takes just one person with COVID-19 to cross our border to trigger a cluster in our community," he said.
"All requests are managed on a case-by-case basis, with sensitive and time-critical requests prioritised."
Ms Stafford questioned why sporting teams and their families were allowed entry to the state under the guise of remaining in a "bubble", when grieving families were not permitted the same privileges.
