The Ruby Princess cruise ship departed from Port Kembla in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday 23 April 2020.
Busloads of crew have been taken from the Ruby Princess cruise ship which has been told to leave Australia by Thursday.
As the Ruby Princess left Australia, Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy gave a reminder earlier today of the ship’s huge impact and its infectious nature.
Crew onboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship wave to residents as it departs Port Kembla in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS
More than half of Tasmania’s 205 cases are linked to an outbreak of the virus in the state’s north-west.
Murphy told the Covid-19 senate inquiry this morning the likely source of that outbreak was the Ruby Princess.
The first three of the state’s eight virus deaths were passengers aboard the ill-fated cruise ship which originally docked in Sydney.
Two of them were patients at the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie which has since been closed alongside its private counterpart, forcing 1,200 staff into quarantine.
Crew onboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship wave to residents as it departs Port Kembla in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS
State public health director Mark Veitch has previously said the Ruby Princess link is being probed as part of an ongoing investigation.
The outbreak, which has infected more than 70 healthcare workers, prompted tough retail restrictions in the northwest which are due to be lifted Sunday night.
