A South Hedland mother of three young children has detailed how the pandemic forced her young family from their rental home to live in the bush, with no immediate prospects of getting a roof over their heads, as WA recorded a moderate jump in COVID-19 patients receiving hospital treatment overnight.

6PR Mornings host Simon Beaumont, in for Liam Bartlett, detailed the plight of mum ‘Zakiesha’, who had a private rental that was terminated when COVID hit, leaving her, her partner and three young children homeless.

“Because it’s unsafe to sleep in the town, we sleep in the bush, near the river, in tents and a swag … a three-man tent between the whole five of us,” she said on Tuesday.

The family was forced into emergency accommodation for seven days until Friday due to quarantine requirements, after one of her kids contracted COVID.

Her and her partner’s health had also deteriorated as they put the kids first.

“We’ve probably got COVID now too, as we have to cuddle our kids to comfort them,” she told Beaumont.

“We’re just so angry, how cruel can they [the authorities] be … to have to look in my kids’ eyes and tell them they can’t have a home.”

WA Council of Social Services CEO Louise Giolitto told Beaumont the agency would try to reach out and help.

The state’s hospitalisations from COVID-19 reached 247 overnight, despite reported case numbers remaining relatively stable over the Easter long weekend.

A further 6107 infections were recorded on Tuesday but no additional deaths were announced.

Just 9825 PCR tests were completed on Monday as clinics continue to experience lower attendance volumes during the Easter break.

Encouragingly, just 1520 of those swabs returned a positive result, for a positivity rate of 15.5 per cent, well down on the roughly 20 per cent that has been standard in recent weeks.

The number of active cases increased overnight to 39,951 as it continues to hover around the 40,000 mark, considerably lower than the peak of 54,064 active infections on April 2.

Press PLAY below to hear Zakiesha’s plight and how she ended up in this position

Image: File photo