Matt Williams’s son Harvey was born five weeks earlier than expected, on a leap day, 29 February, and ever since, his aunts and uncles and cousins have been waiting to see him.
Young Harvey, who is in good health, was due on 1 April, but that early arrival gave him and his family, especially the grandparents, a brief, lucky window to meet him for the first time before nearly everything closed.
On Friday, New South Wales partially relaxed its restrictions so that two adults (and any dependent children) can visit any other household – as long as you still keep your physical distance.
On Saturday, Queenslanders will be allowed to travel up to 50km for recreation, like picnics or exercise, and the national parks will be reopened. Western Australia relaxed its own laws on Monday.
For Matt and his wife Julia, in Sydney, this means they can go down the road to visit his sister, and introduce Harvey to his uncle and cousins. But they’re playing it safe, and won’t be taking him to see his grandparents for at least a few weeks more.
“It is a very interesting time to bring a young person in the world,” Williams says. “The current situation in some hospitals is even the father can’t go in with the birthing mothers – so we were very lucky to have missed that.
For Lisa Villani, Friday’s relaxation of restrictions means she can see her friend Deb Mansfield, who is recovering from surgery.
Mansfield, 43, is a visual artist and former university lecturer, who now works in the disability sector. The pair met seven years ago and, until the shutdown, worked together at a pottery workshop.
“In some of my toughest times, Deb has been the family in Sydney I didn’t have. She checks in. She delivers baked goods. She sends gifts,” Villani says.
A few weeks ago, Mansfield visited (from 1.5 metres away, Villani adds) and told her they had found a growth on her ovary. She went in a week later for surgery.
Before the hospital visit, they had kept in touch through a virtual passata-making class. Now they can’t wait to do the same in person.
“I felt so helpless at a distance, not being able to see her or support her in the lead-up to and after her surgery,” Villani says.
As soon as the new rules were announced, she invited Mansfield over for dinner.
In Byron Bay, Damian Brady, 39, and wife Lisa Webb, 36, say that the restrictions on gatherings have been especially hard on their young kids – who have been missing their friends.
“We pulled Harry, our oldest, out of daycare as soon as the virus started spreading in Australia,” Brady says.
“It’s been a month and a half since he played with another kid. It’s difficult to explain to Harry why he can’t get close to people or play on playgrounds, and all his social activities like daycare, swimming lessons and circus arts stopped cold. Thankfully our youngest is only four months old so it hasn’t affected her much.”
But as parents of two children, Brady and Webb are looking forward to the break as much as for themselves as the kids.
“The last time we had a catch-up with any friends for any longer than a few minutes was sometime in February,” he says.
“For my wife and I, it’s just been extremely isolating. We can talk to neighbours at a distance, but for most part it’s just the four of us in a house 24/7. We rarely went out before things changed, but it was always an option if we needed a break.”
And the family reunions will still have to wait. The pair are originally from Queensland, and the state border is still closed to people who aren’t residents or essential workers.
“Most of our friends and all the grandparents are in Brisbane,” Brady says. It shows how, though the lockdowns are partially relaxed, there is still much that people can’t or aren’t quite ready to do yet.
Regardless, any outing feels like a blessing.
“We won’t go all out – for us it’s about extending our isolation circle just a little to feel a bit more human,” Brady says. “Harry being able to play with another kid is something I’m really looking forward to. I know he is.”
