Greg Mortimer pax were asymptomatic

A NEW scientific paper published by a respiratory physician on board Aurora Expeditions’ Greg Mortimer has confirmed four out of five COVID positive passengers aboard the ship had no symptoms.

Professor Alvin Ing from Macquarie University was a passenger on the ship during its highly publicised journey to Antarctica, and took the opportunity while in isolation to document the spread of the virus, in a paper published last month in medical journal Thorax.

Ing’s research notes that of the 217 passengers and crew on board, 128 ended up testing positive, but only 24 presented with symptoms, of whom half only had mild fevers or coughs.

There has currently been one death from the ship, with two passengers still remaining in hospital in Montevideo.

“The uniqueness of this study is that everybody on board was tested, regardless of whether they had symptoms or not,” Professor Ing told Macquarie University’s Lighthouse website.

“The numbers that were actually positive are a revelation because they showed firstly, how widely and quickly the virus spreads and secondly, how so many of the COVID-positive passengers were asymptomatic.”

While a pandemic had been declared three days before the Greg Mortimer left Ushuaia on 15 Mar, all passengers and crew had been screened before boarding, and anyone who had transited China, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Macao, South Korea or Taiwan was not permitted to board.

“We all knew what was happening in China, South Korea and Japan at the time, but there were minimal cases in the USA, and South America, we thought, was a safe continent,” Ing said.

The report provides a timeline of the cruise, which was blocked from entry to any ports once the first fever emerged on day eight.

While strict isolation protocols were engaged and passengers confined to cabins, full PPE used for any sick patients and N95 masks for any contact with guests, Ing noted the spread of COVID-19 continued, perhaps through contaminated surfaces.

The fact that so many on board were asymptomatic means “isolation by itself doesn’t protect you from acquiring the virus, unless you know who has the virus on board.

“This means everyone should be tested, even those without symptoms,” Ing said.

COVID-19: In the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton can be viewed at thorax.bmj.com.