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A Christchurch man is asking government officials to exempt him from quarantine so that he can see his dying wife for the last time.
Bernie Ryan with wife Christine Taylor.
Source: rnz.co.nz
By Anan Zaki of rnz.co.nz
Mining contractor Bernie Ryan returned from Australia on Sunday after his wife Christine Taylor’s condition worsened.
He is currently under controlled isolation at a hotel in Auckland, and said that despite showing no symptoms of illness and a letter of support from his GP, the Health Ministry has repeatedly rejected his request for a waiver.
Taylor has terminal lung cancer and has been given hours to live.
“When I left [for Australia] To go to work, my wife was not doing well but was making progress, “Ryan said.
Taylor was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago.
“But things got worse anyway, and luckily I was able to get a flight from Brisbane to Auckland, knowing I would have to wait two weeks before I could return to Christchurch,” Ryan said.
“In the meantime, her organs have started to fail and she’s on a morphine drip. My three sons, distressed, are with her, they obviously want her to be around. I have family support there with her, but ultimately not the father. , It is?”
Ryan first applied for a waiver the day he arrived in Auckland.
He said he was willing to travel with personal protective equipment and maintain physical distance.
“I requested an exemption due to my circumstances and it took me two days to get a response, which I think is standard, [and] They rejected me, “he said.
“And then I immediately tried again through the health department [Ministry of Health] Representative at the hotel, sent it to his coordinator, who had said if there were special circumstances to send it to him, and it was obviously agreed that he had special circumstances.
Ryan said he waited a couple more days and received a phone call from the Ministry of Health informing him that it would be impossible for him to go to Christchurch.
He said the denial was devastating.
“Well … I cried, and basically a friend suggested that maybe we could get in touch with the media and, if not for me, for other people who might have to go through this scenario,” Ryan said.
He called on the government to show sympathy for New Zealanders in similar situations.
“Well, I am a proud Kiwi, we are the best country in the world, only [show] a little compassion … instead of these generic emails I’ve been getting, what about just a little compassion? And not all cases are the same, basically that’s what I’m saying, “Ryan said.
“It really is breaking my heart.”
The Health Ministry said Ryan would have received a letter explaining why his request was rejected, and his exemption team will contact him to explain more.
