Last week Neos Kosmos shared a story about a mother’s last wish to see her son before she died.

Melbourne-born Angelos Giotopoulos has been living and working in Greece for the past few years, earning his livelihood as a freelance photographer and filmmaker with regular contributions to well-known Greek newspapers Kathimerini and Vice Greece. His regular trips between Greece and Australia came to a halt when COVID-19 struck, and a difficult situation took a turn for the worst in March when he was told his mother’s days were numbered.

Knowing that cancer was taking its toll, Mr Giotopoulos did all he could to return to Australia to see his mother Mina Giotopoulos alive for the last time.

On 22 April, he entered the country, just a few kilometres away from where his mother was drawing her last breath at a palliative care unit in Monash Hospital. Despite being so close in proximity, he did not get to see her alive.

READ MORE: A mother’s dying wish to see her son denied by Australian authorities

Neos Kosmos reached out to Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for answers as to why Mr Giotopoulos was not granted and exemption, despite also being contacted by the palliative care unit.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to Mr Giotopoulos on his loss,” a Department of Health (DoH) spokesperson told Neos Kosmos.

“The Department of Health and COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria work hard to facilitate compassionate visits in these situations, but all steps have to be fully undertaken to ensure public health risks aren’t compromised. The Department was in direct contact with Mr Giotopoulos from 20 April.”

The spokesperson went on to say the DoH “continued back-and-forth discussions about the steps he needs to take and information he needs to provide”.

“Given the continued risks of coronavirus overseas, and the systems in place to manage exemptions from Hotel Quarantine in similar circumstances, full exemptions are rarely granted,” said the spokesperson.

Mr Giotopoulos was not impressed with the department’s response.

“I’m not surprised – text book response – copy paste – just shows how much empathy runs through the system,” he told Neos Kosmos. 

Mr Giotopoulos said he does not yet know when he will return to Greece but Australia is a place “he cannot call home anymore”.