Australia on Friday requested the passengers who traveled in a cruise ship which is docked in Sydney to self-isolate or quarantine after four people who were in the ship tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, March 19. Around 2,700 passengers disembarked the ship docked in Sydney harbour 6 am local time on Thursday.
The Princess cruise liner is working on rounding up the passengers after issuing a statement talking about the people who were tested positive for the new coronavirus on Friday. Ruby Princess made a short cruise trip to New Zealand and was back in Sydney when the tests came out positive.
Ship was said to having low risk for the virus
The ship was said to be having a low risk for the virus by the authorities. But, three passengers and one cruise member tested positive for the virus on Thursday. The authorities fear that there will be more cases as the passengers had disembarked in the populous Sydney.
Around 13 had fallen sick with flu-like symptoms in the ship and was tested for the new virus. The New South Wales state Health Minister Brad Hazzard said that the passengers have provided the cruise with their e-mails and phone numbers and every effort is being made by the authorities to contact them. The ship is presently off the coast of Sydney with 1,100 members of the ship along with the one tested positive for the virus.
Another ship quarantine?
Hazzard said that there might be further cases of the Covid-19 among the passengers but it has not been confirmed yet. He also mentioned that this is a cause of concern as the people had been to Sydney while being docked.
According to DailyMail, there were 3,800 people on board. One of the people who tested positive for the new virus is in serious condition. Another passenger who is in Tasmania has also fallen ill and is likely to have the virus. Drastic measures of isolation and social distancing have been requested by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Earlier this week twenty-one people tested positive for the new virus on the Grand Princess Cruise Ship docked in California. A former passenger passed away as well.
Previously around 700 people had tested positive in the Diamond Princess for the disease while being quarantined off the coast of Japan. This has also raised a lot of criticisms about the country. Ruby Princess has traveled to several locations with the passengers including Wellington, New Zealand. It is possible that other passengers might be carrying the virus without any symptoms in the country. Australia has reported more than 500 cases while New Zealand has had around 20 cases.
