NSW Covid: Sydney removalists didn’t know mum was infected before Orange trip

The mother of two Sydney removalists, who travelled to the state’s west with Covid, found out about her infection at the same time as her sons.

The mother of two removalists facing criminal charges for travelling to the state’s west with Covid-19 only found out she had the virus on the same day as her sons.

Saeeda Akobi Jjou Stu, 57, was found dead at her home in Green Valley, in Sydney’s southwest, on Monday morning with NSW Health later confirming she is the fifth COVID-19 related death of the current outbreak.

The Daily Telegraph understands she was tested alongside her sons Roni and Ramsin Shawka, 27, on Thursday night, and like her sons received a call from NSW Health the next day to say she was positive.

Saeeda Akobi Jjou Stu (centre), the fifth Covid-related death of the current outbreak, poses for a photo flanked by her twin sons Roni and Ramsin, her husband Adel (far left) and son Romel (far right). Picture: Facebook

The Shawka twins, their mother, father, sister and several young children all immigrated from Iraq over the last decade, and are understood to have been living together in a five-bedroom home.

Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said during Tuesday’s daily media briefing that because of their living situation NSW Health had offered to put the family into a healthcare facility, but they declined.

“That family were offered care and were offered transport to an alternate facility … they made the decision to stay at home,” Dr Chant said.

“The local health district has got a lot of services for managing a large number of people in that area, and have got clinical outreach care teams.”

The 57-year-old died at her Green Valley home on Monday, just three days after Roni and Ramsin were charged by police after allegedly travelling in western NSW while COVID-19 positive. Picture: 9News

Police were understood to have been investigating whether Roni and Ramsin Shawka knew their mother had COVID-19 when they and their colleague Maryo Shanki, 21, set off west in a removal truck on Friday.

But Health sources confirmed she had only received her diagnosis around the same time as her sons.

It is unclear how the initial transmission into the Shawka household occurred, but Dr Chant said the fact the mother-of-five had died three days after testing positive shows how dangerous the delta variant is.

“You can deteriorate quite quickly with Covid. We’re not dealing with a mild case of the flu,” she said.

“You are going to see rapid deteriorations, so it is important that we work with people with Covid to support them with the best possible care we can to ensure the best possible outcome.”

Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said during Tuesday’s daily media briefing that because of their living situation NSW Health had offered to put the large family into a healthcare facility, but they declined. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Just hours after being forced to isolate in their car while emergency services were at the scene, Ramsin paid tribute to his mother on Facebook.

“Mama, my love, you are the love of my life, Mama you left instead of us, my heart,” he wrote.

While the language barrier has made communicating with the Iraqi immigrants difficult, a rough timeline suggests the Shawka twins were tested on Thursday night, in line with the newly introduced “surveillance testing” that means essential workers in Sydney’s southwest must be tested once every three days.

But they claim that because they had no symptoms, they were legally allowed to go about their job.

At 4am the next morning Roni and Ramsin, Shanki and another man, set off in two trucks for Molong.

Ramsin Shawka

Roni Shawka

They made several stops along the way at South Bowenfels and then about 9.30am at Orange, when the call came through to say Roni had tested positive.

Roni told The Daily Telegraph earlier this week there had been a miscommunication between NSW Health and the removalists, which he blamed on the language barrier.

However when the Shawka twins and Shanki face Orange Local Court on August 30, police will allege that after the first call from NSW Health advising Roni he was positive, they should not have gone any further.

Police said they could not comment on whether charges would be dropped against the twins in the wake of the tragic death of their mother.

Despite some confusion, the Shawka twins and Shonki were not the same removalists who travelled down to Victoria last week starting that state’s current outbreak.