Man stages hunger strike in hotel quarantine after being denied an exemption
Victoria’s Acting Premier is ‘really sorry’ a man staging a hunger strike was not given a hotel quarantine exemption but blamed another state.
NewsWire
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Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino has blamed Western Australia for an Aussie citizen stuck in hotel quarantine in Melbourne being denied an exemption to be by his dying mum’s side.
Mr Merlino said he was “really sorry” a hotel quarantine exemption could not be given to James Turbitt when he arrived in Melbourne on Friday but said the final decision rested with WA Health.
Mr Turbitt has pledged to go on a hunger strike in hotel quarantine after his mum died in a Perth hospital while he was trapped isolating at Stamford Plaza in Melbourne’s CBD.
He flew into Melbourne from Belgium on Friday night after rushing to book a flight when his mum’s health rapidly deteriorated but said he was only given “fake empathy” from unhelpful officials who denied him an exemption so he could be by her side.
Mr Turbitt arrived on Friday night before his mum passed away aged 65 at Fiona Stanley Hospital about 1.30am on Sunday, with Mr Turbitt forced to say his final goodbye over a dodgy hotel internet connection.
He said he was forced to fly into Melbourne, as there were no flights available that landed in Perth.
Mr Merlino said he was aware of Mr Turbitt’s situation when asked by reporters on Tuesday morning and extended his sympathies to him and his family in “particularly tragic circumstances”.
“I’m aware of how personally difficult, how tragic this is, and it’s a reflection of the times we live in and I’m really sorry that this was the outcome,” he said.
“But in terms of commercial flights, quarantine arrangements, they are really decisions that have been made in the jurisdiction at which that person wanted to go.
“That was not able to be done in terms of the response from the other jurisdiction.”
WA Health has not responded to a request for comment from NCA NewsWire.
Mr Turbitt, an Australian citizen who lives in Antwerp with his girlfriend, claims he was told by the Victorian health department that even if he was granted an exemption, he would need to charter his own plane to Western Australia so there would be no risk to anyone else.
He said he hadn’t eaten anything since Saturday afternoon – before his mum died – and was going on a hunger strike to raise awareness of his situation so that others don’t have to suffer from such “barbaric” rules.
“When I got to the hotel I said ‘I’m not eating because I need someone to listen to me’,” he told NCA NewsWire.
“No one else should have to go through this. I know it’s not the best thing to do, but it’s immoral, it’s inhumane.
“She was a lovely, caring, compassionate lady, she was a nurse herself, we spoke every day.”
Mr Turbitt said he tested negative for Covid-19 on June 13 and then again on Thursday night before boarding his flight from Brussels.
“I loved my mother wholeheartedly and I had to spend her last moments locked in a quarantine hotel room all by myself, powerless,” he said.
“No one knows how that feels except me. It was the most distressing thing I have ever had to do.
“There needs to be some change to these inhumane laws … so that in the future other people in my situation might well just be able to get to say goodbye.”
Mr Turbitt said he was still in shock from the experience and was wondering if it was a “dream or reality”.
He said he was also denied an exemption from WA Health to skip hotel quarantine in Melbourne, even with a letter from doctors stating she was receiving palliative care.
He said health officials had since asked for the funeral details to be able to provide an exemption.
“I’m sitting here by myself, I can’t take a domestic plane there, they won’t let me drive there, I don’t have $50,000 for a charter flight, my sister can’t even think about a funeral right now and I can’t even afford to get there if I was allowed,” Mr Turbitt said.
“I just feel really let down by my own country. I truly believed when I left Brussels that I was going to be able to see my mum. I’m an Aussie citizen, they should be here to help me in times of need.
“They say they give out passionate exemptions, but they make it impossible to get them.
“It has just been a paper trail of people passing me on to others. They should just make one national body for compassionate exemptions because when it’s compassionate, things move quick.
“Miranda Kerr, Zac Efron, they got hotel exemptions to quarantine at their own villas, and I’m stuck here and my mum died.”
Mr Turbitt said he hadn’t seen his mum in two years.
Victoria health department and Covid-19 Quarantine Victoria both extended their deepest sympathies to Mr Turbitt on the loss of his mum.
The health department and CQV said they worked hard to facilitate compassionate visits in such situations, but if they involved transit to and quarantine in another state, Victorian authorities required the approval of that state before granting an exemption.
Victoria is yet to receive approval from WA Health for an exemption.
It’s understood commercial airlines also won’t allow international arrivals in hotel quarantine to travel on scheduled domestic flights.
A CQV spokeswoman said it would continue to offer additional support to Mr Turbitt during this difficult time and monitor his health and wellbeing while in hotel quarantine in Victoria.
It comes after a fully vaccinated young couple were also denied a hotel quarantine exemption to be with their newborn baby in Queensland earlier this month.
Originally published as Man stages hunger strike in hotel quarantine after being denied an exemption
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