Along with hundreds of others, Australian citizen Throshni Naidoo is spending her Christmas separated from her family, locked in the Howard Springs quarantine facility in the Northern Territory.
Ms Naidoo was forced to undertake 14 days of mandatory isolation that will end on 26 December after she travelled to South Africa to visit her sick father, who died during her trip.
“Unfortunately, while I was there, Omnicon broke [out]. And lots of flights got cancelled,” she told SBS News.
“Post [my father’s] funeral, there weren't any flights to come back.”
Struggling to find commercial flights back into the country, Ms Naidoo applied for a repatriation flight from Johannesburg to Darwin, arriving in Australia on 12 December.
Ms Naidoo will now celebrate Christmas without her nine-year-old daughter and husband who live in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Throshni Naidoo and her nine-year-old daughter. Source: Supplied
“Not only am I going through the grief of having lost my dad. Four months ago, I also lost my brother. There's just a lot of emotion. And it's a really sad time,” she said.
“This is only compounded by the fact that I can't be with the people that I love: my husband and my daughter.”
Quarantine requirements have been scrapped for fully vaccinated travellers who arrive on commercial international flights into Victoria and NSW.
But due to Ms Naidoo boarding a repatriation flight, she has to undergo two weeks of mandatory quarantine.
“I'm extremely grateful that Australia put on that flight," she said.
"But I just don't understand why we are having inconsistent treatment for quarantine rules for a repatriation flight versus a commercial flight."
With a cyclone warning in place for Christmas Day in the Northern Territory, Ms Naidoo fears she may be forced to stay longer in the quarantine facility as a precaution.
“I think if we've got to extend our stay, it would be absolutely gut-wrenching," she said.
But it's not just those forced into mandatory quarantine who are having a very different Christmas this year.
Throshni Naidoo in the Howards Spring quarantine facility in the Northern Territory. Source: Supplied
Thousands of Australians who have tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to the virus have also had their Christmas plans thrown into disarray.
There are currently 60,306 active cases of COVID-19 around Australia, according to COVID-19 tracking site .
Christina Pembroke was supposed to be hosting Christmas celebrations at her Western Sydney home this year but instead is spending her holidays in quarantine.
She’s been in isolation with her husband and two children since Wednesday after the family came into contact with a positive case.
“We got the notification that we could have been exposed at our church. But there's also been a case at [my husband’s] work … at IKEA,” she told SBS News.
Ms Pembroke’s husband has been feeling unwell over the past week and tested positive for COVID-19 after taking a rapid antigen test. The family of four is now awaiting further results after undertaking PCR tests.
Despite being in isolation, Christina Pembroke's family are making the most of Christmas. Source: Supplied
“We will have to have Christmas at another time … and Facetime [my family] later when they're all together," she said.
“So that's a little bit disappointing. But we can't change anything.“
But it hasn't been all bad. The family made the most of the day by watching church online in the morning and having bacon and eggs for breakfast.
And for Ms Pembroke’s children, Amelia and Luke who received a trampoline for Christmas, they were none the wiser.
“My two-year-old, he has no idea. He just is happy that he got presents this morning from Santa.
“But my four-year-old, I just had to tell her that we wouldn't be able to see like nanny and pop and granddad and all of those people until Daddy was better.
“But at the moment, she's happy we're both home … It’s a beautiful time of the year.”
