Charlotte Foster
Travel Trouble

Elderly man dies waiting for state borders to reopen

A man has died at a NSW caravan park while waiting for the Queensland border to reopen so he could be reunited with his son. 

The 78-year-old man had been living with his wife and daughter in the northern NSW town of Tenterfield for 14 weeks before his sudden death. 

The Courier Mail reports that the family had been trying to relocate to the Southern Downs region of Queensland to live with their son. 

However, as Queensland's tough border rules remain in place, the family stayed in Tenterfield: 50km from their destination. 

NSW Police confirmed that emergency services were called to the caravan park in Tenterfield on November 22nd, following reports of a man suffering a medical episode. 

Members of the public started CPR on the man, but could not be revived once paramedics arrived and he died at the scene. 

Following news of the man's death, his wife and daughter he was living with were both granted an exemption to be with their remaining family in Queensland.

It has been reported that the man had applied for a border exemption in early November, but he later withdrew the exemption request for an unknown reason. 

According to the QLD Government Health website, to enter the state you must apply for a Queensland Entry Pass and produce a negative Covid PCR test, which costs approximately $200. 

According to other residents of the caravan park, the elderly man was "very stressed" at the thought of having to pay for the test done to enter Queensland. 

Image credits: Getty Images

Tags:
Travel trouble, state borders, Queensland, New South Wales, travel exemptions