Comment correction An earlier version of this story said the Ruby Princess cruise ship is owned by Carnival Cruise Line. The ship is owned by Carnival Cruise Corporation. The story has been corrected. A cruise ship carrying about 800 people who tested positive for the coronavirus docked in central Sydney on Saturday, evoking memories of a deadly ship-related outbreak in Australia’s biggest city in the early days of the pre-vaccination pandemic. The Majestic Princess, which has returned from New Zealand, is carrying more than 4,000 people, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC). Princess Cruises, the cruise line, it said in a statement that everyone on the plane had a rapid antigen test within 24 hours of disembarking, and that passengers who had tested positive would be disembarked separately and not take public transport. Australia no longer requires people who have tested positive for the virus to self-isolate, although local authorities have issued guidelines that Covid patients on ships should self-isolate for five days after testing positive. “Our onboard medical team will continue to support guests until they disembark,” Princess Cruises said in a statement. It did not respond to a question about whether customers who had tested positive could be isolated on the ship until they recovered, although the company said it would help guests access isolation accommodations. The Majestic Princess was soon to sail to Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city. The health department of New South Wales, the state in which Sydney is located, said in a separate statement that the patients had been isolated on the ship. State authorities said there was a ‘Tier 3’ Covid risk level at the Majestic Princess, indicating a ‘high level of transmission’. Cruise ships have been a potent incubator for the coronavirus. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitored such ships for transmission at sea for about two years. also warned against cruise travel amid Omicron’s rise during last year’s holiday season. The CDC still recommends getting vaccinated and tested for the coronavirus before boarding a cruise ship. In early 2020, Carnival Cruise Corporation’s Ruby Princess allowed thousands of passengers to disembark in Sydney, placing the cruise ship at the center of one of Australia’s largest Covid outbreaks. At least 28 people have died and 700 cases have been linked to the ship, according to ABC. Another Carnival ship, the Diamond Princess, also recorded 12 Covid-related deaths earlier that year, including the first Australian national to die from the virus. However, the country has since lifted coronavirus restrictions on international travel: Proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test is no longer required for entry, and wearing a mask on international flights is encouraged but not mandatory, according to Australia’s Department of Health and Aged Care. The absence of restrictions is a far cry from how Australia first handled the pandemic. Sydney, the commercial capital, instituted a 106-day lockdown in 2021, while Melbourne endured the world’s longest stay-at-home lockdown. Australia also closed its borders to almost all international travelers for nearly two years, reopening in February. It expelled tennis ace Novak Djokovic for not being vaccinated, barring him from this year’s Australian Open. The country has one of the lowest Covid death rates in the western world. One side effect of the cruise rules: Norovirus has skyrocketed Australia’s reopening came after achieving one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. As of Nov. 9, nearly 96 percent of residents over the age of 16 have received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine. The country of 25.7 million people reported a seven-day rolling average of 12 deaths on Friday, or about half of what it had a month ago. But authorities in New South Wales said this week that the state had entered a new wave of the pandemic and some doctors fear the upcoming festive season will cause a surge in infections that could challenge the hospital system in a country that has removed almost all virus restriction. “If the big public hospitals on the east coast aren’t overwhelmed with patients and understaffed over the holidays – I’ll give $1,000 to charity,” tweeted Dr Steve Robson, president of the Australian Medical Association, in response to news. infections on the Majestic Princess. (Most of Australia’s population lives on its east coast.) Katerina Ang contributed to this report.
