Two Maltese grandparents who emigrated to Melbourne in the 1950s, died 31 hours apart after contracting coronavirus.

Carmen Micallef, 92, originally from Nigret, and Charles Micallef, 87, from Baħrija became ill as part of two separate clusters.

Carmen died on Sunday night at an aged care facility in the state of Victoria, while Charles tested positive last week and died on Tuesday at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. 

Their devastated grand-daughter, Jackie Micallef, blamed people for failing to adhere to social distancing and the government for not protecting the elderly.

Melbourne is currently in a stage 4 lockdown, meaning residents can only travel up to five kilometres from their homes, wear a mask in public and observe a 8pm to 5am curfew. 

Carmen and her four grandchildren, including Jackie, in red. Photo courtesy of Jackie Micallef

The Micallefs, married in St Paul's Cathedral in Mdina in 1952 but their marriage had ended some years ago.  

Like many Maltese at the time, they moved to Australia two years after their wedding, following relatives who had gone before them. 

Their family has been devastated by their sudden and tragic loss and feared the increasingly worsening situation in Melbourne as COVID-19 cases spike, their granddaughter  told Times of Malta. 

"This second wave appears to be a result of people not adhering to social distancing and either not staying home while they have symptoms, or not isolating after having tested positive," Micallef said. 

Charlie and two of his grandchildren. Photo courtesy of Jackie Micallef

"The daily infection figures range from 300-700 new cases a day and people in Victoria are angry about the lack of compliance with restrictions and some are questioning the speed of government response, especially in the aged care sector."

Despite the distance, Charlie and Carmen never forgot their roots, instilling their three children and four grandchildren with their Maltese identity. 

Charlie worked for many years as a crane operator on the docks, and together with Carmen, kept up the tradition of farming in their new home, just as he had done in Baħrija. 

Charlie and Carmen working on their farm in Melbourne

"They returned to Malta for visits many times and instilled within their children and grandchildren the importance of our Maltese heritage by cooking us Maltese meals (especially Timpana and Pastizzi)," Jackie said.

"They will be incredibly missed by our whole family."