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Cann v Farley [2020] NZFC 2610

Published 07 July 2023

Contact arrangements — COVID-19 — Level four lockdown — global pandemic — coronavirus — family bubble — risk of infection — welfare and best interests of child — Care of Children Act 2004, s 133. This hearing was to determine the parenting arrangements for a child. The applicant, the child's caregiver, wanted the child to remain in her care for the duration of lockdown with no face-to-face contact with the respondent mother, citing health concerns for herself, her husband and father. COVID-19 presented a higher risk of serious complications or death to the elderly and people with underlying conditions; however, the caregiver provided no evidence other than stating her father was in his 70s. The Judge believed it was in the welfare and best interests of the child to have contact with her mother and to maintain continuity by trying to keep arrangements as they were before the pandemic. The caregiver threatened that she would not take the child back into her home if she had contact with the mother. The Judge advised the caregiver to rethink that position and put the child's needs first. The situation was to be reviewed in one week. As an extra protection the Judge ordered that no person could enter the mother's bubble, if they weren't already a part of it. Judgment Date: 9 April 2020. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements***