Removalists’ dad tests positive less than a day after wife dies

The two Sydney removalists accused of potentially spreading the city’s worsening coronavirus outbreak through regional NSW have been devastated by confirmation their father has tested positive to the pathogen.

The NSW removalists at the Ariele Apartments in Melbourne. Picture: Channel 7

The two Sydney removalists accused of potentially spreading the city’s worsening coronavirus outbreak through regional NSW have been devastated by confirmation their father has tested positive to the pathogen – less than a day after their mother died from the disease.

Adel Shawka confided in neighbours that he had been infected by the potentially fatal contagion and was now quarantining in the family’s Green Valley home, in Sydney’s southwest, along with his daughter and twin sons, Ramsin and Roni, who have also contracted the virus.

The revelation comes after Mr Shawka’s wife, Saeeda Akobi Jjou Stu, 57, was found dead in the family home about 9.15am on Monday, becoming the state’s fifth Covid-related fatality since the highly virulent Delta strain of the disease plunged the city into a month-long lockdown.

Her tragic death came two days after the couple’s 27-year-old twin sons were charged with breaching a health order after travelling to Molong, about fours’ drive west of Sydney in the NSW’s Macquarie Ranges, to deliver furniture, despite having tested positive for Covid.

Mrs Shawka had been tested for the virus at the same time as her sons last Thursday night after the twins’ employer at On Time Removals, Amin Yousef, insisted they be swabbed before continuing on with their next ­delivery.

Rather than waiting to receive their results, the twins, who were asymptomatic, embarked on the job at 4am last Friday – along with a third man, Mario Shanki, 21 – even though health regu­lations require all patients to isolate after being tested until they receive the all clear from officials.

The trio was already in the ­regional centre of Orange, about 250km west of Sydney, when one of the twins, Roni, received a call from NSW Health about 9.30am informing him that he had tested positive.

Mr Shawka, who has lived in Sydney for much of the past decade after moving to Australia from Iraq with his family, claims he did not understand what he was being told because of his broken English and that he had asked NSW Health to speak to his boss.

By the time his mother received an identical call that afternoon, the twins were already in Molong, where they were stopped by police about 2.30pm and escorted back to Sydney and charged.

If found guilty, the three ­removalists all face fines of $11,000 each.

Neighbours said Mrs Shawka had been suffering from a cough in the days leading up to her death but had otherwise seemed fine.

Chief health officer Kerry Chant confirmed on Tuesday that health authorities were aware Mrs Shawka had contracted the virus before she died but that she had declined hospital treatment, despite reportedly having difficulty breathing.

While contact tracers were still working out how the Shawka household became infected, Dr Chant said Mrs Shawka’s death demonstrated the dangers of the Delta strain.

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

One of the twins, Roni, posted a tribute to their mother on social media on Monday, saying: “Mama, my love, you are my life. Mama, you are my comfort and my life, Mama.”