Coronavirus Australia: Ruby Princess cruise ship passengers not checked, kept travelling

Sarah McPhee and Charis Chang news.com.au

News.com.au understands a US couple who were on board the Ruby Princess flew from Sydney to Brisbane and back again in an attempt to return to the US. They are now awaiting a new flight home.

This is despite NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard yesterday saying that it was possible other people on board had COVID-19 and everyone needed to self isolate for 14 days, including more than 2600 passengers who were allowed to leave the ship.

The Ruby Princess cruise ship left Sydney on March 8 before it completed a relatively short cruise around the Pacific to New Zealand and returned to the city on Thursday morning, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters yesterday.

“There were some people on board the cruise ship who presented with flu-like symptoms,” he said.

The Princes Cruises-operated vessel was carrying about 2647 passengers and 1148 crew.

A doctor on board did 13 swabs to test for coronavirus and three passengers, who disembarked at Circular Quay, were later confirmed to have COVID-19. They are receiving treatment in Sydney. Mr Hazzard said one of the passengers is “not particularly well”.

A fourth case of the virus is a crew member who is in isolation and is still on board the ship.

There have been 382 cases of coronavirus confirmed in NSW and 928 cases nationally.

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THE PASSENGERS

Sixty-three per cent of the ship’s 2647 passengers were Australian, 20 per cent were United States residents and the rest were from a variety of other countries.

The reality for health authorities is that thousands of passengers, possibly exposed to coronavirus, are now scattered across Sydney and perhaps the country.

News.com.au understands a US couple who was on the ship is still trying to leave Sydney.

They say they flew to Brisbane and back after their flights to the US were cancelled and are now awaiting a new flight home.

It’s unclear if they have been in touch with health authorities or received any correspondence.

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Trevor Spencer and his wife Julie were passengers on the cruise, and they told The Sydney Morning Herald they were not asked questions about their health and did not have their temperature checked before they got off the ship.

“We were of the opinion that they were going to check us as we disembarked. But they didn’t. We just walked straight off,” Mr Spencer said.

“We’re feeling pretty comfortable. It is what it is. The chances are we might get it.”

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NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said all passengers had been contacted by text and email with authorities next making follow-up phone calls but it’s not yet clear how many have actually been reached.

Mr Hazzard earlier said contacting thousands of passengers was “a bit of a journey” and some had not responded.

“If you start to show any of the symptoms, whether it a fever, a cough, or any of the other well-known symptoms that can associate with – like flu, obviously – we want you to make sure you report that in, and take due medical advice,” he said.

“It is actually serious, because if we have nearly 2700 people that were passengers on that ship, we want to know every single one of them is in quarantine.”

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THE CREW

Of the 1148 crew, 98 have left the ship and NSW for their home countries.

The rest of the crew remain in isolation on board the ship, which is currently at sea, off the New South Wales coast, somewhere between Sydney and Wollongong.

Dr Chant said the cruise ship company would take care of the 1148 Ruby Princess crew. “They have doctors on board the ship, they have ICU facilities, they have care,” Dr Chant said.

Mr Hazzard asked for help getting the 14-day self isolation message out to those affected.

“If you know somebody who came in (Thursday) from the Ruby Princess, do our community a very big favour and have a chat and make sure that they are given this clear message,” he said.

— with AAP