The grieving wife of a man who killed himself in hotel quarantine in Brisbane this week believes her husband would still be alive if he was granted an exemption to isolate at home.
The 53-year-old aeronautical engineer from Brisbane’s northern suburbs was found unresponsive in the bathroom of his room at Novotel near the airport about 5pm on Monday.
He was on just his second day of mandatory quarantine after travelling to Canberra to visit relatives.
His wife told The Courier Mail he suffered serious depression and was particularly distressed after his twin brother died of cancer in 2020.
The man’s mother was also diagnosed with the disease.
The 53-year-old aeronautical engineer from Brisbane’s northern suburbs was found unresponsive in the bathroom of his room at Novotel (pictured) near the airport about 5pm on Monday
Given his history of mental health concerns, the man’s wife believes the prospect of being isolated for two weeks in a hotel room may have ‘pushed him over the edge’.
‘We didn’t expect this to happen – it’s a shock,’ she said. ‘I don’t understand why we can’t do something different for people with major depression who may be at risk of suicide.
‘I believe if my husband had been in home quarantine, he’d still be alive – that’s my strong belief. There must be options. There must be other ways.’
The woman said she understood the need for quarantine to prevent a viral outbreak in largely Covid-free Queensland, but is calling on the government to show compassion and consider cases on an individual basis.
‘People who are depressed shouldn’t be put in hotel quarantine. In my mind that was a factor that may have pushed him over the edge,’ she said.
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It’s understood the man from Brisbane’s north was found with self-inflicted injuries with a suicide note left at the scene, just two days after going into quarantine
The new widow is now seeking answers as to whether her husband had applied for an exemption from hotel quarantine.
Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Chelepy confirmed on Tuesday that the man had died inside the state-run facility.
‘I’m not able to go into any more detail at the moment but what I will say is that the matter is under investigation by police, and it will be referred to the coroner following that investigation,’ he said.
‘I just would like to acknowledge the response of the police and our health staff and other agencies in hotel staff that are working at the hotels, their response to that tragic matter.’
Emergency services workers found the 53-year-old man unresponsive in his bathroom around 5pm on Monday (Pictured, Queensland police officers at a crime scene in Brisbane)
The tragedy came as the Queensland recorded one new Covid cases on Wednesday following six on Tuesday, including two in hotel quarantine and one from a traveller just released from quarantine.
Another case – a Gold Coast-based truck driver – was not included officially in the figures as he had tested positive across the border in NSW, but had prompted authorities to add Gold Coast to the mask mandate applied to Brisbane and Moreton Bay.
Truck drivers in Queensland will also need to have their first vaccination dose by October 15 and be double jabbed by November 15 to continue to work in the state.
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Source: Daily Mail
