Aunts of Mia killed when magpie swooped dealt another blow, Glinderman Park, Queensland, NSW, Covid
EXCLUSIVE: Devastating twist in tragic death of baby Mia in magpie swooping accident as Queensland refuses to allow her aunts to attend her funeral because of ridiculous Covid restrictions – even though one is fully vaccinated
- The aunts of a baby killed in a magpie swooping incident will miss the funeral
- Queensland’s Covid laws have banned NSW visitors without an exemption
- Told they have to quarantine for 14 days, even though one is fully vaccinated
- Family are distraught that they can’t be be together during the tough time
- The sisters have now started a fundraiser which topped $133,000
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Pictured: Five-month-old Mia, who died on Sunday
The two aunts of a baby who tragically died when her mother was swooped by a magpie have been ordered to quarantine for 14 days before they can see the child’s distraught parents, even though one is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Baby Mia died in a freak accident at Glindemann Park in Holland Park West, southeast Brisbane, on Sunday when her mother Simone, 30, tripped over while trying to shield her daughter from an aggressive bird.
The baby’s two aunts Katie and Sophie, who are the sisters of Mia’s father Jacob, live in Covid-addled New South Wales and had to apply for an exemption to travel across the border to Queensland to be with their distraught brother and his wife.
The application was successful, but Katie told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that she and her sister will have to spend 14 days in a quarantine facility.
It means they will miss Mia’s funeral – even though Sophie is fully vaccinated and Katie has tested negative to Covid.
‘This would not allow us to provide any more support than we already are to Jacob, Simone and our mother and father,’ Katie said.
Mia (pictured) suffered a serious head injury and died in hospital after she and her mother Simone Francis were swooped by an aggressive magpie
‘It does not allow us to provide mental, physical or emotional support to our family in a time of need. This would not enable us to attend our niece, Mia’s funeral.’
‘That is just not appropriate in our exceptional circumstances – to say that we are disappointed by this outcome is an understatement.
A couple rushed to help the mother and daughter after the magpie swooped at them. They are pictured at the scene on Tuesday
She said the tight-knit family are trying to ‘push through the hardest part of the grieving process’ from afar, but all they want is to be with their brother Jacob and his grieving wife.
To ensure they don’t spread Covid to people in Queensland, Sophie and Katie are willing to get tested before leaving NSW and again upon arrival into Queensland.
They also offered to spend time in a government quarantine facility for a few days, until they return a negative test.
Katie said the family were left with no option but to appeal the decision and hope health authorities show compassion for their dire situation.
A couple who witnessed the magpie swoop on baby Mia and her mother Simone lay flowers at the scene in Holland Park West, Brisbane
A well-wisher pays tribute at the scene on Tuesday. Residents said the bird loiters around the Nursery Road side of the park – the same strip where the woman and baby were attacked on Sunday
‘Our wish is only to be there for Jacob and Simone to help and support them during a time that no parent should ever have to go through,’ she said.
Katie also thanked the community for their ongoing support throughout their ordeal, as the Go Fund Me campaign she created to pay for Mia’s funeral expenses surpasses $133,000.
‘It has been truly humbling that Mia’s sad passing has touched so many people,’ she added.
In a press conference on Thursday morning, Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young acknowledged the ‘awful’ situation, but stood firm on the rules.
‘You’ve just heard me go through how many people are testing positive on day 10 or 11,’ she told reporters.
‘What if these people test positive on day 11 and the funeral is on day eight?’
‘That park is quite close to where I live, I know it well. It is absolutely a tragic, terrible situation but I can’t make it tragic even more by having someone go to a funeral and spread the virus at that funeral, no-one would want that.’
In the fundraiser, the aunts wrote: ‘We as family will forever be here for them, to love, cherish and support them through the good times and the bad.’
They added: ‘Everything about Mia was perfect – from her head full of hair, to her tiny little nose and her little long toes.
Flowers are left at the scene after the five-month-old was killed in a freak magpie swooping accident on Sunday
‘Mia’s arrival made Jacob and Simone’s lives complete, they constantly doted over her, showered her with love, and shared her for all their loved ones to adore.
‘The joy Mia brought to all of our lives cannot be described in words, but is certainly felt in all of our hearts.
Following the devastating incident on Sunday, the little girl suffered head injuries and paramedics took her to Queensland Children Hospital, but she couldn’t be saved.
On Wednesday, Daily Mail Australia revealed that a council memo recorded details of a call from a member of the public, saying locals are trying to kill the park’s aggressive birds by giving them poisoned food.
Council officers were also seen carrying away what looked like pieces of meat from the park after inspecting nests, with the food taken as evidence in plastic bags.
Their actions come despite public statements by Brisbane’s Lord Mayor that the magpie believed to be responsible – which had previously attacked many locals and left some bleeding – had already been removed.
The memo detailed that a member of the public, living in a unit overlooking the park, called in to report she believed people were laying poisoned baits on the grass as a reprisal.
‘Caller has noticed some people throwing some food around on the grounds of the park,’ the memo reads.
A couple who were in the park and witnessed the tragedy paid their respects as floral tributes to the five-month-old baby grew
A warning sign is pictured telling Glindemann Park users to ‘walk quickly through the area’ and to get off their bike and walk if they are cycling through the park
‘Caller feels these people may be placing contaminated food for the magpies to possibly kill them.
‘A number of people walk their dogs in the park and this could possibly cause further incidents to others.’
The memo was noted as ‘urgent/emergency’ and had not been resolved internally.
Council investigators were spotted on the scene assessing the aggressive magpies’ nests on Wednesday.
One carried a plastic bag containing what could have been food laced with poison.
Questions remained about why Brisbane City Council had not sought to relocate the dangerous birds away from the 70,000-square-metre park earlier despite receiving at least five complaints about them in July and August.
On Tuesday evening, Mia’s dad Jacob, 32, described the agony of losing his only child to Daily Mail Australia.
Mia’s mother ducked to avoid the magpie in Glindemann Park shortly after midday on Sunday and tripped over with baby Mia in her arms
The mother was being swooped by the magpie in Glindemann Park (pictured) when she tripped while carrying her baby
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner (pictured) said earlier on Tuesday the magpie has been moved ‘a long way away’
‘Our whole world has been taken from us and the pain we are experiencing is unimaginable,’ he said.
‘We are so grateful for the most precious little gift we ever received.
‘Mia brought joy to everyone’s lives with her infectious smile, her pure innocence and her adorable laugh, she will be forever in all our hearts.’
‘No words can begin to describe the torture Jacob and Simone are going through. A life cut so short, much sooner than any one of us expected.
‘Mia was and forever will be the light of Jacob and Simone’s lives.’
Jacob said Mia was the most precious gift that he and Simone ‘ever received’ and that her ‘adorable laugh’ and ‘infectious smile’ brought joy to everyone’s lives.
Pictured is a pedestrian holding a stick on the road outside the south-east Brisbane park. Multiple warning signs around Glindemann Park urge residents to be wary of swooping magpies
Another resident said he reported the bird to the council about eight weeks ago after being swooped but the bird was not removed (pictured, a warning sign erected in the park )
The doting father thanked family, friends and members of the public who have expressed their condolences, and reminded people to ‘love and embrace your loved ones’.
‘We live in such an incredible and thoughtful community,’ he said.
‘Your well wishes have touched our hearts and we appreciate all the support you have provided. We are sorry we cannot thank everyone individually but we are reading every loving message we receive.’
There were emotional scenes on Monday when family members and devastated locals laid flowers and left moving tributes beneath a tree where baby Mia had died.
Loved ones broke down in tears as they embraced one another at Glindemann Park, sharing memories of the ‘precious little girl’.
In a heartfelt message to Mia, Jacob said: ‘Mum and dad love you dearly Mia and we treasure the beautiful life we had with you. Rest In Peace Mia. Love Mum and Dad xoxoxo.’
Pictured is a magpie in Glindemann Park on Tuesday. A man who lived in the area had warned other residents to avoid the park after he was attacked multiple times
Another magpie flies across the suburban Brisbane park on Tuesday morning. Brisbane City Council workers captured the bird that swooped on the mother and her baby at 3pm on Monday
A witness to the horrific accident had earlier praised the baby girl’s ‘heroic’ father for calling triple-zero immediately and doing ‘everything he could’ to save his child’s life.
‘I’ve seen shock before but this was beyond anything I’d ever seen,’ the man told the Courier Mail.
He praised the baby girl’s ‘heroic’ father for quickly calling Triple-0 while trying to do ‘everything he could’.
‘It’s sickening I suppose, seeing a family torn apart in one quick moment,’ his wife added.
