Heartbreaking moment woman isolating in hotel quarantine says goodbye to her mother as funeral service bring casket to her
- Heartbroken daughter forced to say goodbye to deceased mum through a fence
- The woman is currently completing 14 days of quarantine in a MIQ facility in NZ
- Funeral home received request to stop at facility so daughter could say goodbye
- Emotional video shows moment wailing daughter reaches out to mother’s coffin
A funeral home has captured the heart wrenching moment a woman trapped in hotel quarantine is forced to say goodbye to her dead mother through a fence.
New Zealand based funeral directors ‘Tipene Funerals’ organised the emotional farewell for the grieving family on Wednesday.
In the video, captioned ‘The boys took nena to see mum in quarantine’ the hearse can be seen backing up to the fence of the quarantine facility to display the coffin.
The grieving woman can be heard wailing as she reaches a hand through the fence toward her late mother, while family members try to console her from a distance.
A funeral home has captured the heartbreaking moment a New Zealand woman was forced to say goodbye to her deceased mother through a fence at a MIQ facility
‘Yesterday we transferred the late (family member) home and it was requested that we stop into one of the quarantine facilities so that her daughter can pay her respects to her mother’, Francis Tipene from Tipene Funerals said.
‘Not often do you see Funeral Directors cry, but this broke us too.’
Mr Tipene explained those arriving in New Zealand from overseas must quarantine for 14 days ‘for the purpose of safety and to prevent any spread of Covid’.
He said the funeral directors feel the ‘aroha’ – a Maori word for love – for all that experience loss during this trying time.
Funeral home ‘Tipene Funerals’ (pictured) organised the emotional farewell for the bereaved family
New Zealand’s Ministry of Health has recommended people in hotel quarantine should delay funerals until their 14 day isolation period is complete
‘A funeral service will be held on Friday 26th March and the daughter will celebrate her mother’s life via livestream with many who also can’t be there.’
Viewers of the emotional scene shared their love and respect for the family in the comments, as well as their well wishes to the grieving daughter in quarantine.
‘Much love to this family & to all the others who have lost someone while in managed isolation’, one user commented.
Another family member posted the video on TikTok with the caption, ‘Surely the New Zealand government can let mum out to say a proper goodbye to her mum’.
Hundreds of viewers agreed that people who have lost someone during their stay in a quarantine facility should be able to attend their funeral.
‘That’s horrific, surely they could of let her out if everyone stood away’, one user suggested.
‘This so isn’t right, just let her out to say her last goodbye’, another said.
Earlier in the month it was announced that Auckland would be joining the rest of New Zealand at Covid-19 alert level one restrictions.
International visitors to New Zealand are currently required to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine, pictured: The Pullman Hotel in Auckland’s CBD
Funeral homes across the country can run services with no limits to numbers and are no longer required to keep contact tracing information.
For people staying in managed isolation and quarantine, the Ministry of Health recommends delaying funerals until the 14 day isolation period is complete.
It was recently announced Australia had amended its international travel ban to allow citizens to legally leave the country and visit New Zealand.
Currently Australians who travel to New Zealand are required to quarantine for 14 days, but this is expected to change in due time.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the commencement date for quarantine-free travel between the two countries will be announced on April 6.
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