'He could be taller than me now, I don't know': Coronavirus keeps Horsham man and son apart

Chris Reinsma, who works as a light aircraft spray painter at Horsham Aerodrome, has been waiting to see his son Tristain, and will be for another six weeks after restrictions were reinstated on Wednesday.

Tristan, 15, lives with his mother, Mr Reinsma's ex-wife. In Horsham, Mr Reinsma has two sons with his partner.

In a perfect, coronavirus-free world, he would get to see his eldest son for a week every school holiday and one weekend a month.

"It won't affect the relationship we've got, because we've got plenty of avenues to talk with technology," he said. "It's just the face to face that I haven't seen him for so long it's just he could be taller or anything I don't know, because I haven't seen him."

Mr Reinsma said he could possibly travel to Melbourne on compassionate grounds, but he didn't want to risk making his son sick given Tristan has severe asthma.

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"If I stop at a servo on the way, touch something and I catch it and take it to their household o vice versa they come up to me and touch something on the way... there are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes, so we've just decided while this is going on, it's easier for us to both stay put."

Mr Reinsma said his son was set to come up to Horsham next weekend, but when his mother developed a cold, she got tested for coronavirus. "She had to wait for the test to come back, and by the time it did and we were talking about it, more cases have come through and they have locked Melbourne down again," he said.

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"When he comes up we go fishing and four wheel driving. Mostly he's just happy to come up to see me,his siblings and grandmother. When you've only got a week over school holidays, the time goes quickly."

Mr Reinsma said trying to explain to his children why they couldn't see Tristan was difficult at first.

"I don't think it's hit the younger ones as much how significant it is - they're just little kids really, they do their own thing," he said.

"But you can tell older kids like Tristan, they are really affected by it. Even just (not being able) to hang out with their friends when we were all in lockdown, that was bad enough for them."

Mr Reinsma said Tristan was keen to get fishing again after the lockdowns ended.

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