A cruise ship carrying more than 100 COVID-positive people will be making its way to Sydney.
The Coral Princess, which can hold up to 2000 guests, is docked at Eden on the far NSW South Coast.
See more about the ship in the video above
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On Wednesday morning, it is expected to reach Sydney, where it will remain for a day, before heading back to Brisbane.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 118 people, mostly crew members, have tested positive to COVID on board.
Another 24 infected passengers disembarked in Brisbane earlier this week, Queensland’s Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said on Tuesday.
Despite the outbreak, passengers onboard the ship were unconcerned.
“They’ve done a terrific job so far, health wise,” one passenger told 7NEWS.
“There’s no problem on the cruise, we’re all fine,” another added.
Locals in Eden, where passengers disembarked for the day, were excited to have tourists back.
“We’ve been through a really hard time in the last three years - through bushfires, droughts, floods, COVID... so we welcome the cruise ships here,” Bega Valley Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said.
“I think it’s great, bring them on!,” one local added.
Those infected are isolating onboard and being cared for by the ship’s medical team, NSW Health said in a statement.
Passengers have been allowed to disembark the ship and go out into the community in Eden, provided they return a negative result on a COVID test.
Passengers on shore tours will be advised to wear masks.
No crew members will be allowed to disembark.
“While a small number of passengers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since boarding the Coral Princess, their infections were most likely acquired prior to boarding and they subsequently tested positive,” NSW Health said.
“NSW Health’s assessment is that the COVID-19 risk level for the Coral Princess during this cruise is amber, which indicates a moderate impact to the vessel.”
A Princess Cruises spokesman said on Tuesday positive cases were detected in crew members through regular surveillance testing, in line with the protocols to resume cruising in May, which also require crew to be vaccinated.
A recent full-screening detected further cases.
“These crew members are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms,” the spokesman said.
The Coral Princess was the first to make Brisbane’s International Cruise Terminal its home port last month.
It is the sister ship to the Ruby Princess, which was linked to 28 COVID deaths and hundreds of cases in 2020, with an inquiry laying most of the blame on health authorities for allowing infected passengers to leave the ship.
Jumping whale crashes on top of small boat.
COVID in NSW
Meanwhile, NSW recorded 10,806 new COVID cases on Tuesday, as health authorities reduced the reinfection period to four weeks with the country being hit by a third Omicron wave.
“The Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are circulating widely in NSW,” Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said in a statement.
“They are more able to evade immunity gained from previous infection and vaccination reinfection is more likely and possible just weeks after a prior infection.
“We’re urging people who have recently had COVID-19, even if they left isolation in the past four weeks, not to be complacent. If you develop symptoms again, make sure to test and isolate.”
There are currently 2,049 people with COVID being treated in NSW hospitals, with 58 in intensive care.
The state recorded another 20 COVID-related deaths on Tuesday.
- With AAP
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