Sydney: About 800 passengers of the cruise ship that arrived in Sydney, Australia, are infected with Covid. Then the Home Minister asked for strong adherence to the Covid protocol in the country.
Carnival Australia’s Majestic Princess cruise ship has arrived in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales. The company informed that about 800 passengers on the ship have tested positive for Covid. The state health authorities have informed that the situation is very serious and the disease is likely to spread rapidly.
Officials compared it to the 2020 infection on the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which spread to 914 people and killed 28.
In the wake of the Ruby Princess incident, authorities had instituted day-to-day restrictions. Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neill said New South Wales Health would take the lead in deciding how to get passengers ashore from the Majestic Princess.
The Carnival Australia company said passengers who tested positive for Covid-19 had been isolated on board and were being attended to by healthcare workers.
The company also said it is working with cruise ship crews to monitor the health of passengers and crew.
Covid cases are on the rise across Australia. XBB, the Omicron variant, is believed to be spreading. The government also said this week that there has been community spread of the disease.