A COVID-stricken Princess Cruises ship docked in Sydney NSW Wednesday morning, July 13, adding fear to New South Wales which is already battling a new wave of infections.
Arriving from Queensland, Coral Princess docked at the passenger terminal at Circular Quay (Sydney's central transport hub) carrying 2000+ people including 100+ COVID-positive. Those onboard who tested positive were isolated in cabins.
Other travelers wishing to disembark were required to have a negative test result on a rapid antigen test and advised to wear masks while off the vessel, according to a statement from NSW Health (ministry of health).
According to the NSW Health spokesperson, the vast majority of COVID cases on the ship were in crew members. All COVID-positive people and their close contacts were isolated and cared for by the onboard medical team.
The cruise ship stayed in Sydney for one day and then headed back to Queensland's capital, Brisbane.
The accident elicited memories of Australia's first spreader event which happened onboard Ruby Princess in March 2020. Some 2700 passengers disembarked in central Sydney without sufficient screening, at least 900 later tested positive, and 28 died.