The Majestic Princess cruise ship docked in Sydney with 800 passengers who caught Covid-19 on Saturday. The ship sailed from New Zealand 3300 guests and 1300 crew members and docked at Circular Quay on Saturday morning.
The outbreak is reminiscent of the Ruby Princess cruise ship Covid outbreak in the initial phase of the pandemic which led to the deaths of 28 people onboard and 900 people tested positive.
Carnival Australia’s president Marguerite Fitzgerald told the BBC that most cases were detected when the cruise completed half way through the 12-day voyage. Fitzgerald said most cases were either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic.
The ship is slated to depart for Melbourne and the staff will assist guests who tested positive by helping them access private transport and accommodation in order to complete their isolation period.
The cruise ship allowed passengers who tested negative to leave the ship first followed by those who tested positive on a deck-by-deck basis through a separate door, according to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Fitzgerald urged passengers to not take public transport in order to avoid transmission of the disease. In New South Wales, it is no longer mandatory to self-isolate for five days after rules were changed on October 14 but the health agency of New South Wales urges people to isolate themselves.
NSW Health categorised the outbreak on the Majestic Princess as “tier three”, which is highest in its cruise ship classification pointing to a ‘high level of transmission.’
Tier Three means more than 10% of those inside the ship have been infected.
New South Wales and Australia are witnessing a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases driven by subvariants of the Omicron strain.
Fitzgerald was asked about comparisons being made between Majestic Princess and the Ruby Princess – both belong to the same operator Princess Cruises is a subsidiary of Carnival – and she said that the cruise operator community has learned a lot more about Covid in the past three years.
Over the past week, New South Wales has detected 19,800 new cases.
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