Mum of little boy who drowned hit with second heartbreak
The family of a boy who drowned during a school camp has been hit with more tragedy less than a week after his death.
Cooper Onyett, 8, died last Friday while visiting the Belfast Aquatics pool in Port Fairy, in Victoria's southwest, with his grade two class from Merrivale Primary School in Warrnambool.
But, his large memorial planned for Friday, May 28 has been put in jeopardy due to the new restrictions announced by Victorian health authorities on Thursday.
Without an exemption, the funeral will have a maximum capacity of 10 people, not including staff.
Ms Meinen told 3AW radio she was hoping to “gain some exemption” to allow the community to attend.
“We’ve got a whole school that’s mourning for a friend,” she said, adding that the family needed support from their community during the tragic time.
“We’ve all been so strong and to rip away the support that we’ve really opened to is just something that I just think would be so detrimental,” she said.
The family are likely to be granted an exemption to hold his funeral during Victoria’s snap lockdown.
Acting Premier James Merlino said he had discussed the matter with Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, but said it would be up to the public health team to make an exemption.
“This is a particularly tragic case … it’s every parent’s worst nightmare - giving your kids a kiss, they’re excited to go off on camp and then we have this tragic incident,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“But we do have extenuating circumstances,” he said.
A GoFundMe page has been started to help pay for funeral expenses and support the family had already raised more than $97,000 as of Friday, including a single anonymous donation of $50,000.
Image credit: 7NEWS