Australia Scrambles as Cruise Passengers Test Positive for Virus
Australia Scrambles as Cruise Passengers Test Positive for Virus
(Bloomberg) --
Australian authorities urged hundreds of passengers allowed to disembark a cruise ship in Sydney on Thursday to self isolate, after four people on board tested positive for the coronavirus.
The three passengers and a crew member were among a group of people who reported flu-like symptoms on board the Ruby Princess during the cruise to New Zealand, operator Princess Cruises said in a statement Friday. The group and their cabin mates were isolated during the cruise to minimize any contact with other guests and crew.
Some 2,647 passengers were on board and were instructed to complete 14 days of self-isolation when they left the ship yesterday, in line with new requirements, the state health department said. It wasn’t immediately clear why the passengers were allowed to disembark given concerns about the ill group on board.
Many countries have become increasingly reluctant to grant entry to cruise ships after the infection of more than 700 people on a vessel berthed off Japan, also operated by Princess Cruises, showed how quickly the virus could spread. Australia has announced a ban on foreign cruise ships, but is still allowing domestic vessels and some ships that were at sea when the restrictions were announced to dock and disembark passengers.
“Our big concern, the very big concern, is that those people came off the cruise with no knowledge of COVID actually being on their ship,” Brad Hazzard, New South Wales state health minister told reporters. “If they think that it’s not necessary to do the 14 days, and if they think that it’s OK to be wandering around, the clear message from me as New South Wales health minister is, no, it’s not.”
Among the three passengers, one was taken directly to hospital from the ship, the health authority said. Another presented to a Sydney hospital for testing after disembarking, while the third is being assessed at hospital. The crew member is in isolation on board the ship.
Ninety-eight of the 1,148 crew disembarked the ship and have left for their home countries, the health department said. The rest of the crew remain in isolation on board the ship, which is currently offshore. Of the passengers, 63% are Australian residents, 20% U.S. residents and the rest from a variety of other countries.
Health officials have emailed and sent text messages to all cruise passengers to advise of the confirmed cases on board and to reinforce the importance of self-isolation, according to the statement.
Princess Cruises said health authorities had “asked for swabs” from the group that had shown flu-like symptoms “to enable testing procedures on the ship’s arrival and we assisted fully in this regard.” The ship is being deep cleansed.
The number of infections in Australia has surged to more than 700 from 156 in the past week and the government has stepped up its response. It has banned non-essential indoor gatherings of 100 people or more and is closing the border to non-residents. Yet it is struggling to convince some Australians to practice social distancing.
As temperatures pushed through 30 degrees Celsius on Friday, thousands of people took to the world-famous Bondi Beach -- clearly ignoring advice to keep 1.5 meters apart. The beachgoers earned a reprimand from Hazzard.
“We are in different times, we need to behave in different ways,” he said in televised comments. “Keep your distance.”
A cluster of coronavirus cases has emerged in New South Wales state after 31 people who attended a wedding south of Sydney tested positive to the virus before passing it on to another 4 contacts.
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