A holiday cruise ship carrying about 800 passengers with Covid-19 has docked in Sydney, Australia, as reported by BBC. The Majestic Princess cruise ship arrived at Circular Quay, having sailed from New Zealand.
According to the reports, around 4,600 passengers and crew were aboard the ship when it docked which means that around one in five had Covid. The outbreak in the holiday cruise ship reminds of the Ruby Princess cruise ship Covid outbreak of early 2020, where at least 900 people tested positive and 28 died.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said the authorities have created "regular protocols" in the wake of the Ruby Princess episode and that New South Wales Health would take the lead on determining how to get passengers off the Majestic Princess "on a case by case basis," as reported by news agency Reuters Federal border force officer will play a supplementary role to the state authorities, O'Neil told reporters in Melbourne.
Carnival Australia said COVID-positive passengers were isolating onboard and being cared for by medical staff, according to New South Wales Health, Reuters reported, The agency said it was working with cruise ship staff to monitor the health of passengers and crew members.
Company president Marguerite Fitzgerald told ABC television that once Carnival saw an elevated number of COVID cases, it put extra protocols in place. The outbreak comes as COVID-19 cases rise across Australia, reflecting community transmission of the Omicron variant XBB, the federal government said this week.
(With agencies' Inputs)