Aged care resident baulks at border reopening: ‘There’s nothing that can save us from Delta’

An 83-year-old grandma has slammed the Premier’s decision to reopen borders right before Christmas as “idiotic” as she’s left unable to grieve her beloved husband.

AN 83-year-old aged care resident says the border reopening date is “yet another blow” in her bid to hold a funeral for her husband who passed away six months ago.

With her daughter and two grandchildren stranded in Sydney and still unable to enter Queensland, a proper service for her “beloved Alexander” is yet to take place.

83 year old aged care resident, Jan Lockhart, is yet to hold a funeral for her late husband, Alex Lockhart, due to border restrictions. Picture: Jerad Williams

Jan Lockhart, who lives at Odyssey Robina, said Annastacia Palaszczuk’s decision to reopen Queensland borders a week out from Christmas were “idiotic”.

“Not only will our airports be completely overwhelmed, but how do you expect people to make travel plans that close to Christmas?,” she said.

“And it won’t be staggered either, the roads will be choked at every access point.

“It’s been six months since my husband passed and I’m still wanting to grieve properly.”

Mrs Lockhart and her husband Alexander were married for 60 years and “never spent a day apart”.

Due to the chaos around Christmas time, Mrs Lockhart said the ceremony would have to take place early next year.

“It’s typical of the Queensland Premier to do this – her timings haven’t always been the best.

“Supposedly, the border delay is going to save us from Covid. I can tell you right now that nothing is going to save us from Delta.

“It’s only now people are scrambling at every opportunity to get their double vaccine.”

Mrs Lockhart said she had seen the impacts firsthand at Odyssey Robina.

“When Covid first hit, obviously a number of aged-care facilities were impacted across Australia,” she said.

“What the Queensland government doesn’t realise is that we never even had a remote sense of Covid threat here (at Odyssey).

“Yet several of the top frontline staff who live across the border such as skilled nurses and medical staff were unable to come to work.

“That’s not only a huge blow to their income but also to the people that live here.

“We rely on those staff to keep us healthy and take care of the elderly residents.”

Mayor Tom Tate was recently caught in the firing line when hinting the border reopening should come sooner.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk responded by saying she “doesn’t know what planet he’s living on”.

Originally published as Aged care resident baulks at border reopening: ‘There’s nothing that can save us from Delta’