Coral Princess: Roger Cook plays down concerns over the unfolding COVID crisis on board cruise ship

WA Tourism Minister Roger Cook has played down concerns over the unfolding COVID crisis on board the Coral Princess cruise ship off the State’s northern coast. The Princess Cruises vessel, which is carrying about 2000 passengers, confirmed COVID positive cases were aboard after it docked in Broome, in WA’s Kimberley region, about 7am on Monday. The ship has since continued along the coast overnight and is expected to dock in Geraldton on Thursday night. WA Health would not confirm how many positive cases had been recorded - or whether infected passengers had disembarked while the ship was docked in Broome - however it is believed up to 100 people may be infected. Passengers and crew could now be forced to isolate for up to five days under cruise infectious disease protocol. “I don’t believe it represents an unnecessary risk to people on shore and we will obviously benefit from having them (passengers) come to Western Australia to spend their tourism dollars,” Mr Cook said. The minister said the outbreak did not cast new doubt over the future of cruising in WA, saying it was not a case of history repeating following the notorious Ruby Princess outbreak in early 2020 off Sydney. “A lot has changed. We have a highly vaccinated population, we have a better understanding of the disease, we have strict protocols in place — all of which have been observed by the crew on the Coral Princess,” he said. A national two-year cruising ban was put in place after dozens of COVID deaths and more than 100 infections were linked to the Ruby Princess. The ban was lifted earlier this year. Mr Cook said cruise liners now had strict processes in place to deal with outbreaks and had ramped up infectious disease control. “Anyone who leaves the cruise ship has to have returned a negative rat test,” he said. “So, we know that people who come off the ship to spend their dollars in the cafes in the pubs in the shops of the communities in which they visit — they don’t represent a danger to the community. “We’re expecting it to dock in Geraldton on Thursday and we will obviously have a better understanding of the of the situation on board as it makes its way down the coast.” A WA Health spokeswoman told The Broome Advertiser, that in accordance with the cruise protocols, while in WA waters cruise operators should report COVID-19 cases to the authority 12 to 24 hours prior to arrival in a WA port. “WA Health has been advised of passengers and crew testing positive to COVID-19, and this evolving situation is being managed by the vessel operator according to its COVID-19 plan,” she said. It comes as an unscheduled cruise ship has been forced to dock into the South West because of poor weather, marking the first passenger vessel to the region since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Adventuresmith Exploration operated vessel the Coral Geographer anchored off the coast of Eagle Bay on Tuesday, with 100 passengers and 40 crews members aboard, some of these disembarking from the liner to explore the South West. The ship’s master advised the City of Busselton of the unscheduled visit late Monday afternoon. A City spokesperson said the vessel’s master confirmed none of the 100 passengers or 45 crew were displaying symptoms of COVID-19. The Coral Geographer will anchor off Eagle Bay on Tuesday, with the City advising passengers will be able to disembark to visit the region by bus services to some of the region’s wineries. The vessel is due to depart Busselton waters on Wednesday afternoon.