Crew members have Covid19

BRISBANE: Authorities are working out what to do with the Covid19 infected crew of a cargo ship off the Queensland coast amid fears they could carry a mystery strain.

Two crew members on Sofrana Surville had been diagnosed with coronavirus, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said yesterday.

The freighter was blocked from docking in Brisbane after New Zealand authorities alerted Australian officials the vessel’s crew could be infected with a new strain of the virus.

It is anchored off Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast and all 19 crew members were tested for the virus on Wednesday.

‘‘There’s a meeting under way at the moment to determine if they will be evacuated to a hospital on the mainland and which hospital that will be,’’ Miles told reporters.

Genome sequencing of a New Zealand case, an engineer who worked on the ship on October 12 and 13, revealed he was infected with a strain of Covid19 new to Australia and New Zealand.

Miles said the two infected crew would be counted in Queensland’s Covid19 tally if transferred to the mainland.

Maritime Safety Queensland general manager Angus Mitchell previously said Sofrana remained isolated in a ‘‘negative quarantine status’’, which restricted the movement of people on and off the vessel.

He said virus testing was completed by a private pathologist contracted by the ship’s agent.

Sofrana left New Zealand this month with fresh crew from the Philippines before stopping at Noumea in New Caledonia. It then sailed for Brisbane. New Zealand alerted authorities the crew could be infected after the engineer tested positive.

Queensland recorded no new virus cases yesterday. — Reuters