Queensland parents battle to bring baby home after waiting nine days to meet him due to quarantine

Parents who were forced to wait nine days before holding their newborn son after he arrived early during hotel quarantine now face a $30,000 medical bill to bring their baby home.

Melbourne woman Sarah Haidar, 27, and her husband Moe, 30, – both vaccinated against Covid-19 – landed in Brisbane on a plane from Qatar on May 26 when their original flight was cancelled due to Victoria’s coronavirus outbreak.

Ms Haidar was in mandatory hotel quarantine when she was rushed to hospital due to complications with her pregnancy.

She gave birth to baby Ilyas 10 weeks early via an emergency C-section on June 1.

Mr Haidar was unable to hold her little boy as Ilyas was immediately whisked away to the neonatal ward while her husband remained isolated in his hotel room.

Ms Haidar was able to hold her baby on Wednesday night after her quarantine was finally complete

The couple was finally able to hold their baby on Wednesday night when their mandatory quarantine stint was complete.

Now they want to return home to Melbourne with their son but in another cruel twist of fate they’ve been told the cost of a medical flight and hospital transfer is $30,000. 

The new mum described the nine days of being away from her son as torture and said she burst into tears when she finally had him in her arms.

‘It was nerve-wracking. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life,’ she told the Today show on Thursday.

‘I immediately cried. He’s just very, very small and tiny. It breaks my heart.’

Sarah Haidar could only see her newborn son through video calls during the first nine days

Ms Haidar was only allowed to see her son through the screen of her phone while she completed her quarantine.

‘It is very tough. This is something I’ve always wanted, you know. I’ve always dreamt of having him right on me when I delivered him,’ she said.

‘But that got taken away from me and I have to live with that for the rest of my life.’

Mr Haidar was barred from being by his wife’s side at the birth due to quarantine rules and didn’t get the chance to meet his son until Wednesday night.

A GoFundMe page has since been set up to help raise the funds needed to bring Illyas home. 

Sarah Haidar while pregnant with her first child Ilyas. She delivered him via emergency C-section on June 1 without her husband by her side

The couple had received two Pfizer shots in Qatar, where they worked for four years, and tested negative for Covid-19  four times since returning to Australia. 

‘It’s been a nightmare, it shouldn’t happen to anyone,’ Mr Haidar said. 

‘We reached out to Queensland Health to help us to airlift Ilyas but they just directed us to the hospital who were informed it will cost $30,000,’ Mr Haidar said.

‘I don’t know how it is going to happen. We just hope sponsors, crowd fund or something happens to get the ball rolling at least while we continue to seek help in that regard.’ 

Mr Haidar told Daily Mail Australia last week he missed the birth because when he applied to Queensland Health for an exemption to be with his family in hospital, it was never processed. 

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young defended the move to keep the couple in quarantine. 

‘We know that just because you’re vaccinated, doesn’t mean you won’t get infected,’ she said.

‘We still need to work out what the ongoing risk – if someone gets infected, who’s fully vaccinated – what is the risk for them to pass that virus on.’ 

Pictured: Moe and Sarah Haidar, who are from Melbourne but lived and worked on Qatar until May 26