Hundreds of passengers with the Chinese coronavirus are disembarking a cruise ship Saturday in Sydney, Australia.
There were reportedly 800 patients among 3,300 guests and more than 1,000 crew members aboard the Majestic Princess, 9 News reported.
Marguerite Fitzgerald, the president of Carnival Australia told reporters Friday the company understood the current wave of the coronavirus was worrying the community. “We take our responsibility in keeping everyone safe very seriously,” she said:
“All of the COVID-positive cases on board are either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic,” she explained. “To help all our guests return home, we are working with all guests who have tested positive to COVID-19 to assist them with accessing private transport and accommodation to complete their isolation period.”
She added that positive guests would be separated from other guests when they leave the ship:
Keen cruisers are boarding the Majestic Princess, just hours after it docked a quarter of its passengers infected with COVID-19.
Hundreds of positive people disembarked at Circular Quay and have been told to isolate at home. @hayleyefrancis #9News pic.twitter.com/I5bFxS5stQ
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) November 12, 2022
According to an October 21 update on the Princess website, all guests are welcome onboard regardless of a person’s vaccination status, adding vaccine and testing requirements had been lifted on most trips.
However, “This applies to itineraries to all destinations except where government regulations may vary like Australia and on a few enhanced guidelines voyages that have their own vaccination and testing requirements,” the site reads.
In a statement Friday, Princess Cruises told Sky News Australia the mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic were isolating in their rooms at the time.
“All unimpacted guests are wearing masks and this will continue when they disembark in Sydney on 12 November”:
“We have been proactively preparing for and managing incidences of COVID-19 and continue to work closely with NSW Health including adhering to their guidelines,” the statement continued.
Per the 9 News report, health officials deemed the cruise ship a tier three risk level.
“NSW Health is liaising with the Majestic Princess cruise ship to monitor the health of its passengers and crew members,” agency officials said.
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