Ruby Princess tragic miss

Biosecurity ‘not aware’ of virus ramifications

BIOSECURITY officials have defended letting Tasmanians returning from cruising on the Ruby Princess back into the state, sparking a cluster of infections.

Labor’s Shane Broad — who said two of his wife’s family members had died from C OVID-19—told a budget estimates hearing the cruise ship passengers, who arrived home on March 18 and 19, were initially held in an airlock at Launceston Airport.

Biosecurity Tasmania had identified them as high-risk travellers and held them awaiting further instructions.

Staff then contacted the State Controller and were told to let the passengers out.

They were directed to isolate at home. Some became ill and were admitted to hospital and some later died.

Dr Broad slam med the government’ s handling of the matter, saying an opportunity to circumvent the outbreak in the North-West, which led to the loss of 13 lives, was tragically missed.

“No one is taking responsibility for this. All we saw today was buck-passing. It is disappointing that important revelations need to come up in hearings like these .”

Bio security Tasmania director Rae Burrows said her department was not aware of the full ramifications of what had happened on the Ruby Princess when the Tasmanian passengers landed.

“Decisions were made on the best information we had at the time. The people were put in airlock and a decision from the State Controller was waited for.”

The State Controller, Police Commissioner Darren Hine, did not provide answers in Thursday’s hearings, taking questions on notice.

Premier Peter Gutwein said authorities in Sydney first allowed passengers to disembark from the cruise ship on March 19 and return home to their states and territories.

“Any Tasmanians returning from the Ruby Princess to our state were expected to self-isolate for 14 days,” Mr Gutwein said. “I’ve always said that we made decisions based on the available information that we had at the time and sought to act proactively at every step,” Mt Gutwein said.

N SW Health announced on March 20 that four people on the Ruby Princess had tested positive for COVID-19.

The state government’s interim report into what sparked the cluster of coronavirus infections in the state’s NorthWest found the hospitalisation of returning Ruby Princess passengers was likely “ground zero” of the deadly outbreak.

Tasmania’s first three fatalities, including two people at the North-West Regional Hospital, had been passengers aboard the cruise ship.

Biosecurity Minister Guy Barnett said a full inquiry was under way and the final report was due in the next few days.

“This is not about apportioning blame and this inquiry is about getting to the bottom of exactly what happened ,’ Mr Barnett said.