Man had to fight for exemption to attend daughter's funeral

Monday, 25 May 2020

Bruce Sanders lost his daughter Maja in a crash on the Napier-Taupō Road this month. He sought an exemption to the isolation rules on compassionate grounds.

A father who lost his daughter in a car crash was told by the Ministry of Health he would have to spend two weeks in isolation in an Auckland hotel before being able to comfort his distraught wife and daughter.

Bruce Sanders' daughter Maja was killed with her boyfriend Joshua Van Hooijdonk in a crash on the Napier-Taupō Road on the afternoon of May 16. They'd made the day trip to celebrate her 20th birthday, which had been four days earlier.

Sanders lives in Hastings with wife Rhonda, oldest daughter Jaye, and Maja. He flies to Western Australia to drive road trains for months at a time before returning home.

Bruce Sanders with his daughter Maja, who died in a car crash on the Napier-Taupō Rd on May 16.

When Rhonda called him with the devastating news he immediately made inquiries about getting home.

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Under alert level 2 anyone coming to New Zealand (who does not have Covid-19 symptoms) must be placed in an approved managed isolation facility for 14 days. These are in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Exemptions can be granted by the Ministry of Health in exceptional or compassionate circumstances.

Sanders sought an exemption on compassionate grounds.

'The Ministry of Health told me 'sorry your application has been rejected and you'll need to spend 14 days in a hotel'. I rang them and told them specifically what had happened, that my daughter had passed away and that I needed to get home straight away. They still said 'no'.'

Sanders said he was fully aware of the need for isolation, but did not understand why he could not carry out isolation at his home, where he could support his wife and daughter.

Joshua Van Hooijdonk, 19, and Maja Sanders, 20, were returning from Taupō to Hastings.

'The poor guy at the Ministry was so sorry, but had to stick to the line. I asked him to elevate it. I said to him put your hand on heart and ask yourself if you'd accept someone telling you that you couldn't go home after the death of your child'. It got elevated several times before they saw reason,' Sanders said.

He and two friends drove the 1700 kilometres from Port Hedland to Perth in anticipation of his request or exemption being approved.

It was approved two days later on May 18, the day he flew home.

'I was going either way. If they were going to stick to keeping me in Auckland for two weeks I'd have done a runner, frankly. Nothing was going to keep me from my wife and daughter. I am not stupid, I would keep isolated, but I was going home,' he said.

Police at Nelson Airport to meet a special Air New Zealand flight from Auckland carrying passengers who had recently arrived in New Zealand from overseas, and had been in self-isolation in Auckland hotels.

'I spent years as a Corrections officer. I told the ministry that if they didn't take me at my word I'd be happy to wear an electronic monitor around my ankle. I emailed Jacinda Ardern. Someone sent me a load of web links,' he said.

'There needs to be a better way of making these decisions in cases like this. A bit more trust should have been shown, trust that a person in my position would do the right thing by self-isolating. There was mental health and wellbeing at stake here, and it was not like matters couldn't have been managed to everyone's satisfaction, and that is exactly what has occurred. The stress we went through was huge,' he said.

A Health Ministry spokeswoman acknowledged the Sanders family's grief and said 'theirs is one of the stories during the period of alert levels which reflect the commitment involved in managed isolation - a commitment which will continue to support the health and safety of all New Zealanders'.

She said all requests for exemption were considered carefully.

'We do this as swiftly as possible but the considerations can take time. While a number of exemptions have now been granted, every exemption creates greater risk. Only in the most exceptional of circumstances will an exemption be granted. In the case of Mr Sanders, we are pleased that within 48 hours, he was able to travel to Hastings to complete his managed self-isolation period,' she said.

'We are confident his case was managed appropriately.

'We don't want to put the good progress we've made in jeopardy, and we know international arrivals are a potential source of new cases,' she said.

Funerals for Maja and Joshua were held in Hastings last Thursday.