AUSTRALIA. Sydney: Around 800 COVID-19-positive guests aboard the Majestic Princess cruise ship have disembarked in Sydney after it anchored there.
After leaving New Zealand, the ship arrived early on Saturday morning at Circular Quay. It will leave Sydney on Saturday afternoon for Melbourne.
The Ruby Princess’s arrival in Sydney in March 2020, at the beginning of Australia’s pandemic, which was ultimately linked to 28 deaths and more than 600 infections, sparked an NSW government special commission of inquiry and a class action lawsuit against the operator, has been brought to mind by the ship’s docking.
The Majestic Princess was docked in Sydney early on Saturday with over 4,600 guests and personnel on board.
According to the cruise line’s operator, Princess Cruises, virus sufferers had been segregated, and each passenger had had a quick antigen test in 24 hours before the embarkation.
Visitors who tested positive and chose to remain on the ship had to isolate for a minimum of five days.
When it is not now necessary for persons with COVID-19 to isolate in Australian jurisdictions, it is advised that they do so while ill.
President of the Majestic Princess’s parent business, Carnival Australia, Marguerite Fitzgerald, said that all instances were asymptomatic or only mildly affected and that they had been advised to avoid using public transportation.
NSW Health is the “lead agency for managing how they are going to assist the passengers and deal with disembarkation on a case-by-case basis,” according to home affairs minister Clare O’Neil.
The Majestic Princess’s COVID-19 risk level was rated as “Tier 3” by NSW Health, which denoted a high transmission level.
“These ‘high impact’ vessels have a lot of cases on board (100 or more positive cases per 1,000 people), and/or the vessel is unable to maintain critical services due to staffing or resource shortages,” the report read.
The epidemic follows a sharp increase in case of counts across Australia over the previous week, a predicted “fourth wave,” which prompted Queensland to advise residents to wear masks inside and on public transportation.
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