Stranded SA grandparents Theresa and Tom Young given SA Health exemption to go home after weeks of waiting NSW at truck stop

An elderly couple stranded at a NSW truck stop outside Broken Hill have finally been given an exemption to go home after weeks of waiting.

A helpless elderly South Australian couple stuck on the side of a dirt road in the middle of the outback for almost three weeks have finally been given approval to go home.

“We’ve got winds blowing off the road like you wouldn’t believe. The dust is driving us nuts. Every 12 minutes a truck goes past. At night the sound comes up from the ground … you just vibrate. We’re in a Covid hellhole,” Theresa Young, 75, said.

The couple are just two of many SA residents who left the state for a holiday and are now unable to get home. Residents must apply online to SA Health and receive a government green card to travel, but many have heard nothing back for weeks, waiting in limbo on roadsides and scared they will catch Covid.

The grandmother, with her husband Tom, 76, is at a truck stop about 20km out of Broken Hill as awaited a response from SA Health after applying for border exemption.

On Monday, Ms Young she was “over the moon” to be headed home.

“We are absolutely over the moon. We’re going to stay in Gladstone overnight and then head home,” Ms Young said.

Fully vaccinated and retired, the duo left on a road trip two months ago to visit family in Cooktown, Queensland.

Tom and Theresa Young, from Wallaroo, are double vaccinated but were stuck near the border for three weeks. Picture: Toby Zerna

Ms Young said they had packed and left as soon as warnings came out for residents to go home before the borders shut on NSW – as Delta infections rose.

But the Youngs, who live at Wallaroo on the Yorke Peninsula, were too late and were stuck waiting.

They spent three weeks washing with buckets and travelling to Broken Hill only for groceries and water, avoiding the town in fear of being infected as Covid numbers rise.

Mr Young’s hearing aid is broken, just another reason they were desperate to get home.

“Our family’s sending us messages checking how we are. They can’t believe we’re still stuck here. We’ve had our shots. What more can we do?” Ms Young asked.

Paramedic Sonya Bamford, 30, who works remotely as a specialist educator for Ambulance Victoria, said she had been harassed by men while sleeping alone in her caravan.

So desperate to get home, Ms Bamford said she had even tried to do a “border run” past police stops.

“I’ve lodged three applications to go home and I’ve heard nothing for five weeks. I’m alone on the side of the road in a state lockdown,” she said.

Police made some calls, then told her to turn around and apply again, she said.

Another stranded resident, Ken Wright, 53, who is on a disability pension for mental health issues, said he felt helpless.

“There’s nobody I can contact. Now I’m stuck and I can’t get out of here. How do you go up against governments? This is not helping my depression and anxiety,” he said.

Ken Wright is living out of his caravan while waiting for news. Picture: Toby Zerna

Owner of Broken Hill hotel The Ibis, Mick Farcich, said he had been told he could not go home – despite having a travel permit.

If he is allowed back, he will likely have to fork out $4000 to stay in a medi-hotel quarantine hotel.

SA Health said exemption delays were being addressed.

“Measures have been put in place to address delays in the response time for applications, such as supervised home quarantine, which will increase the number of South Australians able to return to the state,” the spokeswoman said.

“Travel exemptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and take account of local epidemiology including evidence of community transmission. We also take into account personal circumstances and prioritise compassionate applications.”