Daughter says goodbye to dying mum after jumping through WA’s Covid-19 hurdles

A couple who were stuck in hotel quarantine before finally being able to bid farewell to a dying parent say she would have been more alert two weeks ago.

A woman who was stuck in hotel quarantine and unable to see her dying mum has finally had a chance to say farewell — but it was a bittersweet moment for the family.

Australian citizen Andrea McCourt, who travelled to Perth from Texas with her husband Mark, was left heartbroken last week after they were told about half an hour before meeting with her mother that it could not proceed.

It came after a security guard at their hotel tested positive for Covid-19, but following media attention, it was announced on Friday they would be able to reschedule.

Under changes to WA’s quarantine system announced that day, the vaccinated couple were told they could leave the hotel on Sunday but must quarantine at home for their final two days.

On Tuesday, they were finally able to meet up with Andrea’s mother Mary Molyneux for about 40 minutes due to a special exemption.

Andrea with her mum Mary. Picture: Supplied by the family to NCA NewsWire

Andrea was finally able to see her dying mum on Tuesday. Picture: Supplied by the family to NCA NewsWire

The 83-year-old has leukaemia and is in palliative care.

Mr McCourt told NCA NewsWire after the meeting that Ms Molyneux had not been “very responsive” during their visit.

“She was barely awake,” he said.

Mr McCourt said Ms Molyneux had recently undergone a blood transfusion to extend her life as much as possible, but she would not get another one and was likely to die within the next couple of weeks.

“If we’d only seen her two weeks ago, she was a lot more alert,” he said.

Despite having to jump though so many hurdles, the couple was relieved they got their chance to say goodbye.