More than 2000 passengers who left cruise ship in Sydney told to self-isolate after three people test positive
Three passengers and one crew member on a cruise ship deemed “low risk” by NSW health authorities have tested positive for COVID-19, the NSW government confirmed on Friday. The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said the ship had been deemed “low-risk” because it was travelling from New Zealand to Australia.
At least one of the passengers infected on board the Ruby Princess is now in a serious condition in a Sydney hospital, the state’s chief health officer Kerry Chant said.
Some 13 people on board had displayed flu-like symptoms and swab checks were done by the ship’s doctor. The results of the tests came back on Friday, testing positive in three cases. But by then all passengers disembarked and the ship had departed with only the crew on board. The ship was carrying 1,100 crew and close to 2,700 passengers when it docked in Sydney and all 2700 pasengers.
Authorities fear that passengers from Ruby Princess might be unaware Covid-19 cases were onboard and be ‘wandering around’ city.
The Ruby Princess’s owner, Princess Cruises, said it was working closely with NSW health authorities - and a fifth suspected case of coronavirus from the ship was now being investigated. The Ruby Princess is operated by the same company that runs the Diamond Princess, the major cruise ship that was badly hit by the coronavirus last month.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said officials are now working to contact nearly 2,700 people who were also on that cruise and disembarked on Thursday, to ask them to self-isolate immediately.
The three cases are among 75 new confirmed coronavirus diagnosis in NSW over the past 24 hours, bringing the state's total number of infections to 382.