Covid outbreak on cruise ship

AUSTRALIA’S home affairs minister sought to reassure the public at the weekend that the Covid-19 protocols were adequate after a cruise ship with hundreds of infected passengers docked in Sydney.

Carnival Australia’s Majestic Princess cruise ship was docked in the capital of the most populous state, New South Wales, with about 800 passengers on board testing positive for the virus, the company said.

State health authorities rated the outbreak’s risk level at “Tier 3”, indicating a high level of transmission.

The incident has sparked comparisons with a notorious 2020 outbreak onboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship. That outbreak, also in New South Wales, led to 914 infections and 28 deaths, an inquiry found.

Home affairs minister Clare O’neil said the authorities had created “regular protocols” in the wake of the Ruby Princess episode and that New South Wales Health would take the lead on determining how to get passengers off the Majestic Princess “on a case-by-case basis”.

Federal border force officer will play a supplementary role to the state authorities, O’neil told reporters in Melbourne.

Carnival Australia, part of global leisure company Carnival Corporation, said Covid-positive passengers were isolating onboard and being cared for by medical staff, according to New South Wales Health. |