Family drove 1,000km to visit their dying grandma and were turned around at the Queensland border

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Family drove 1,000km to visit their dying grandma and were turned around at the Queensland border

A family has been denied the chance to say goodbye to their dying grandmother after they drove 1,000km from a town with no coronavirus cases.

Sharon Star had an exemption to visit her 101-year-old grandmother Freda Aughton in Queensland, but once she got to the border on Saturday police turned her away.

After driving with her mother from a regional town with no known cases of COVID-19, the pair are now being forced to travel the 1,000km back home.

It’s understood the family had driven from Marrangaroo, a small town in the Central West of NSW.

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Freda Aughton (pictured centre), 101, is dying in Queensland and will now not have the chance to say goodbye to some of her family 

Sharon Star (pictured) had an exemption to visit her 101-year-old grandmother Freda Aughton in Queensland, but once she got to the border on Saturday police turned her away

‘Really frustrating when we got to the border because our passes were no longer valid but we were told at the border,’ Ms Star told 9News. 

Ms Star and her mother were told the rules had been changed that morning and could no longer say goodbye to Ms Aughton.

‘We try not to get caught up in it because we just break down and cry – we just really want to get that chance to say our goodbyes,’ Ms Star said. 

Ms Aughton’s granddaughter Mikkayla Smith said: ‘It would mean the world to her if they could just come through the border and see her’. 

Ms Smith took to Facebook to complain about her family’s treatment.

‘I am 100 per cent about protecting QLD but to not allow our family to come say goodbye to our terminally ill grandmother is absolutely disgusting!’ she wrote.

‘They live in a town where there has been ZERO CASES recorded.’

‘They received their border passes, then drove 1200km to see her and were then sent back!’

‘She just wants to see her family! We are shattered and furious! She’s 101 years old.’ 

After driving with her mother from a regional town with no known cases of COVID-19, the pair are now being forced to travel the 1,000km back home

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said initiatives were in place to ensure the community is kept safe from coronavirus

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said initiatives were in place to ensure the community is kept safe from coronavirus.  

However in the 24 hours prior, Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said anyone could cross the borders into Queensland in an emergency. 

All of Victoria, NSW and the ACT have been declared hotspots by the Queensland government, meaning no one can enter the state’s borders. 

Exemptions are very limited and only apply to those deemed ‘absolutely essential for the functioning of Queensland’.

People can enter the state to visit dying relatives with exemptions granted by Dr Young, but 14 days quarantine would have to be completed.

However, the visitor would be able to leave quarantine to visit the sick relative.  

Queensland extended its coronavirus restrictions to two new regions on Saturday despite recording just four new cases. 

One trainee from the Queensland Corrective Services Academy at Wacol, in the state’s south-east, and three household contacts of trainees tested positive on Friday.

A senior trainer at the academy was diagnosed with the virus on Thursday following the outbreak at the nearby youth facility.

Mr Miles said the new cases underline the importance of adherence to household restrictions.

One trainee from the Queensland Corrective Services Academy at Wacol, in the state’s south-east, and three household contacts of trainees tested positive on Friday

Motorists are seen approaching a checkpoint at Coolangatta on the Queensland- New South Wales border

It comes as those health restrictions limiting the number of people who can gather were extended to the Gold Coast and Darling Downs regions.

No more than ten people can gather in Brisbane, Ipswich and Logan without a COVID-19 safety plan, following an initial outbreak at a youth detention centre.

That was extended south to the Gold Coast from 8am Saturday after two Pimpama residents linked to the cluster were diagnosed with the virus.

The new rules will also come in to effect in the Darling Downs from 8am on Monday, after health alerts were issues for The Southern Hotel and Queens’ Park Markets in Toowoomba. 

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Friday Schoolies Week had been cancelled less than three months before it was scheduled to begin.

‘This is a mass event. It poses a high risk,’ she told reporters.

Concerts and large parties will be banned, with limits on gatherings at beaches and apartment complexes.

‘It’s a tough year for everyone. Hopefully, things will get better by the end of next year and we can have a double celebration,’ she said. 

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said he backed the decision but conceded it would be tough on local businesses, such as accommodation providers.

‘There will be costs in their business operations and I sympathise … because to get new business in 85 days is near impossible,’ he said.  

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said initiatives were in place to ensure the community is kept safe from coronavirus

Source: Daily Mail Australia | News Colony

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