Devastated granddaughter blasts selfish Victorians who are flouting lockdown rules - after BOTH of her beloved grandparents died from COVID-19 just hours after contracting it in hospital
- Jackie Micallef lost her grandmother and grandfather to coronavirus in 31 hours
- Grandmother contracted virus in aged care home in Victoria amid spike in cases
- Ms Micallef's grandfather tested positive to coronavirus while staying in hospital
- Ms Micallef slammed 'selfish' Victorians who don't isolate after testing positive
A granddaughter has slammed 'selfish' coronavirus-infected Victorians who fail to self-isolate after both her grandparents died from COVID-19 in a matter of days.
Jackie Micallef lost her grandmother Carmen after she contracted the deadly virus in an aged care home amid a horror second wave of coronavirus infections in Victoria.
Ms Micallef and her family were dealt another cruel blow just 31 hours later when her grandfather Charlie died in hospital from COVID-19.
'It's completely surreal what we're feeling,' Ms Micallef told Today on Wednesday morning.
'We just come to terms with our grandmother and our, you know, mother passing away.
Jackie Micallef lost her grandparents Carmen and Charlie (pictured) in just 31 hours. The pair contracted the coronavirus in separate clusters
'And then a couple of days later, the same thing happened with our grandfather and we just are pretty numb and shocked to say the least.'
Charlie had been in hospital for an unrelated health issue for about a month before he tested positive to coronavirus.
The family were shocked by the news of his death as his condition rapidly deteriorated in a matter of minutes.
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'On the morning that he passed away, 15 minutes before he passed, he was up and talking to nurses, asking for water and then 15 minutes later, he's gone,' Ms Micallef said.
'Like, it just happened so quickly that we didn't see it coming really.'
The family did not get the opportunity to farewell the Carmen and Charlie before their death's but had been lucky enough to speak over the phone in their final weeks.
Jackie Micallef slammed 'selfish' coronavirus-infected Victorians who fail to self-isolate. 'If you've tested positive for the virus and you're outside, you're being selfish and your actions directly affect others like my grandparents'
Ms Micallef implored Victorians who have tested positive to COVID-19 to self-isolate and stop the spread of the virus.
'Don't be selfish. If you've tested positive for the virus and you're outside, you're being selfish and your actions directly affect others like my grandparents,' she said.
'So it's really life or death the consequences of those actions.'
Victoria recorded 439 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday - the state's 30th consecutive day of a triple-digit increase.
The state's death toll jumped to 147 - and the national figure to 232 - after another 11 coronavirus patients died.
There are 1,186 active coronavirus cases linked to aged care and 731 active cases among health care workers.
Ms Micallef said Victoria's COVID-19 crisis has exposed problems in the private aged care sector but she did not blame individual workers for her grandparent's deaths.
'It's really highlighted the deficiencies in the system,' she said.
'We don't begrudge those particular staff members or that facility, it is a more widespread issue that needs to be addressed.'
Ms Micallef lost her grandmother after she contracted the deadly virus in an aged care home amid a horror second wave of coronavirus infections in Victoria
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