COVID-infested cruise ship docks in Melbourne

A COVID-infested cruise ship has arrived in Melbourne.

The Grand Princess, carrying more than 2000 passengers docked on Thursday morning, with some guests who have have tested positive to COVID allowed to disembark to allow them travel to their residence of choice to continue isolation.

Judy, a passenger, isn’t COVID-positive and told Neil Mitchell she’s been allowed off and hasn’t seen anybody looking unwell on-board.

Press PLAY below to hear her explain

The Department of Health provided 3AW Mornings with the following statement…

A nationally agreed cruising protocol has been developed to help manage and reduce the severity of any COVID-19 outbreaks on cruise ships visiting Australian ports.

This includes a pre-boarding health screening and testing requirement, a range of public health measures on board, as well as escalation processes in the event of an outbreak.

In Victoria, our South East Public Health Unit leads the outbreak management of ships that dock at Melbourne Port, including working closely with cruise operators to stay informed of case numbers and any medical response needs prior to arrival.

Cruise ship operators must have COVID-safe plans for any shore excursions, with passengers also asked to comply with any additional state-based guidance if they opt to disembark.