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Additional cruise ships docking in Busselton has concerned a number of community members who have contacted the Mail this week about fears of coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen cruise ships change their itineraries to avoid nations where the risk of coronavirus is high, particularly throughout Asia. An extra 11 cruise ships are now scheduled to make their way to Busselton which were originally headed to other high-risk destinations. One community member, who did not want to be named, questioned whether it was safe for passengers to be disembarking in Busselton after seeing the disease spread throughout passengers on cruise ships quarantined in Japan and the US. Yallingup resident Peter McGann said cruise liners were notorious for infections such as flu spreading throughout a vessel. "Should any of these thousands of tourists visiting from who knows where, be infectious on their day in the Busselton area, they could easily pass on their condition to any of the local population," he said. "Such a bad outcome far outweighs any short term financial benefit and would surely result in City of Busselton staff recriminations. "I would urge you to put such cruise liner visits on hold over the next few weeks as the worldwide crisis quickly develops, and if it is as bad as I think it will be, then cancelling all cruise liner visits may be the only solution." On Friday, March 13, 2020, the Cunard Lines Queen Mary 2 is due to arrive in Busselton bringing 2,691 passengers and 1,292 crew members to shore who will inject more than $500,000 into the local economy. A Cunard spokesperson said while there were no suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus on any of its ships, they were closely monitoring the situation and could react quickly to any arising challenges. "Whether that's re-routing Cunard's ships to minimise risk or putting extra procedures in place for guest and crew protection and wellbeing," the spokesperson said. "Our medical experts are coordinating closely with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and Public Health England to implement control measures for our ships. "Across the fleet, we are implementing numerous practical changes to our day-to-day operations including pre-boarding screenings for guests, crew and visitors at all ports of embarkation. "We've the added reassurance of medical centres on every ship. In addition, working with the relevant public health authorities, we uphold the highest levels of hygiene across our fleet." The spokesperson said any guests or crew who have travelled from or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Republic of Korea, Iran or Italy within 14 days of embarkation, including transiting through an airport in these locations, would not be permitted to board their ships. "Those guests who have travelled from or through Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand or Japan within 14 days before embarkation will be subject to advanced pre-boarding screening," the spokesperson said. "Please be aware that any guests who are given permission to board following this advanced screening may be subject to additional and ongoing active surveillance and measurement throughout the cruise. "Those guests should also be aware of the potential for other mandatory inspections beyond our control from port authorities and also the potential for refused entry." City of Busselton mayor Grant Henley said that while people may be justifiably concerned, it was important to keep note that at this point in time rates of infection in Australia were low and unlike other more vulnerable countries, we had access to quality screening and health care. "The best way to protect yourself and your family and to maintain a sensible perspective on the situation is to keep abreast of the information posted on the WA Government website," he said. At the time of publication, there were nine reported cases of caronavirus in WA and one death, with a further 2,014 people testing negative to the disease. To find out more information about COVOID-19 please visit health.wa.gov.au/Articles/A_E/Coronavirus.

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