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Four cruise ships have been given special permission to dock in Australia, despite the nationwide 30-day ban, but the Federal Health Minister insists they are arriving under "strict conditions".
Key points:
- The ban prevents foreign cruise ship passengers disembarking in Australia
- 2,647 passengers were allowed off a ship at Circular Quay in Sydney
- The NSW Opposition labelled the situation "absurd" in a pandemic
Greg Hunt has also confirmed Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram contacted New South Wales authorities yesterday after the handling of the Ruby Princess's arrival in Sydney this week was criticised.
Four people from the vessel have tested positive for COVID-19 — three passengers who have been taken to hospital and a fourth person, a crew member, who remains in isolation on the ship.
Despite this, the 2,647 passengers were still allowed to disembark from Ruby Princess at Circular Quay, sparking fears they could unknowingly spread the virus throughout the community.
NSW Opposition health spokesman Ryan Park branded the situation "absurd".
"It seems to be unbelievably absurd in the middle of a pandemic that this would be allowed to happen," he said.
NSW Health said it had contacted all passengers to reinforce the importance of self-isolation for 14 days.
More than 1,000 Ruby Princess crew members remain quarantined on the ship.
Mr Hunt said the states were responsible for dealing with the cruise ships and indicated NSW had not followed the correct procedure.
"Those returning to Australian ports are returning under strict conditions," he said.
"NSW is now applying those conditions and I thank them for accepting the advice of the Border Force Commissioner, who rang to ensure they are fully aware of their responsibilities."
Cruise ship ban across Australia
The Prime Minister last week announced a 30-day ban on all foreign cruise ships docking in Australia, but the Government had made an exemption for four which were already on their way, including the Ruby Princess.
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A second cruise ship is arriving in the West Australian port of Fremantle today and a third is set to dock in Darwin this week.
All of those on board are required to self-isolate for 14 days and Mr Hunt said state health authorities have a process to deal with anyone suspected of carrying the virus.
"If the relevant state health authority is not confident that they are virus free, then they will remain on board until they have clear evidence," he said.
"And if they have that evidence then they will go into home isolation or medical isolation."
Topics: covid-19, infectious-diseases-other, respiratory-diseases, travel-and-tourism, diseases-and-disorders, health, perth-6000, sydney-2000, wa
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