SYDNEY: Australia’s Home Affairs Minister on Saturday sought to reassure the public that Covid-19 protocols were appropriate after a cruise ship with hundreds of infected passengers docked in Sydney Harbour.
Carnival The company said the Australian cruise ship Majestic Princess has docked in Sydney, the capital of the most populous state, New South Wales, with 800 passengers on board having tested positive for the virus.
State health authorities rate the outbreak’s risk as “Tier 3,” indicating a high degree of transmission.
The incident has drawn comparisons to a notorious outbreak in 2020 aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship. That outbreak, also in New South Wales, has resulted in 914 infections and 28 deaths, an investigation found.
Interior Minister Clare O’Neil said authorities had created “routine protocols” after the Ruby Princess episode and that New South Wales Health would lead the determination of how to disembark passengers from Majestic Princess “on a case-by-case basis”.
Mr O’Neil told reporters in Melbourne.
Carnival Australia, a division of global entertainment company Carnival Corporation & plc, said passengers who tested positive for Covid had been quarantined on board and cared for by medical staff, according to New South Wales Health. The agency said it is working with cruise ship staff to monitor the health of passengers and crew.
Company President Marguerite Fitzgerald told ABC television once had Carnival has seen the number Covid cases, it puts additional protocols in place.
The outbreak comes as Covid-19 cases increase across Australia, reflecting community transmission of Omicron XBB variant, the federal government said this week.
Carnival The company said the Australian cruise ship Majestic Princess has docked in Sydney, the capital of the most populous state, New South Wales, with 800 passengers on board having tested positive for the virus.
State health authorities rate the outbreak’s risk as “Tier 3,” indicating a high degree of transmission.
The incident has drawn comparisons to a notorious outbreak in 2020 aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship. That outbreak, also in New South Wales, has resulted in 914 infections and 28 deaths, an investigation found.
Interior Minister Clare O’Neil said authorities had created “routine protocols” after the Ruby Princess episode and that New South Wales Health would lead the determination of how to disembark passengers from Majestic Princess “on a case-by-case basis”.
Mr O’Neil told reporters in Melbourne.
Carnival Australia, a division of global entertainment company Carnival Corporation & plc, said passengers who tested positive for Covid had been quarantined on board and cared for by medical staff, according to New South Wales Health. The agency said it is working with cruise ship staff to monitor the health of passengers and crew.
Company President Marguerite Fitzgerald told ABC television once had Carnival has seen the number Covid cases, it puts additional protocols in place.
The outbreak comes as Covid-19 cases increase across Australia, reflecting community transmission of Omicron XBB variant, the federal government said this week.
