State borders close, more COVID-19 cases linked to Ruby Princess cruise ship

Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia have joined the Northern Territory and Tasmania in taking steps to close borders. Meanwhile, almost 50 cases of Coronavirus have been linked to the Ruby Princess, which was allowed to dock in Sydney last week.

The Ruby Princess anchored in Sydney Harbour

The Ruby Princess at Sydney Harbour. Source: AAP

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has recommended all non-essential domestic travel be cancelled, but states and territories are taking matters into their own hands - with Queensland, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia all implementing their own travel restrictions.

South Australia and Western Australia will close their borders on Tuesday in the hopes of preventing the spread of the Coronavirus.

Queensland has also announced moves to close borders, with Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk announcing the restrictions on social media.
Anyone travelling to South Australia will have have to undertake a mandatory 14-day isolation period from Tuesday afternoon.

Travel into Western Australia will also be restricted from Tuesday afternoon, with exemptions for essential services and trucking.

Tasmania and the Northern Territory have already implemented travel restrictions.

Australian border restrictions came into effect on March 20.

Cruise Ship Coronavirus

Last week, the Ruby Princess cruise ship was allowed to dock at Sydney Harbour, now almost 50 people who travelled on the ship have tested positive for COVID-19. 

Almost 2,700 people disembarked the cruise ship at Sydney's Circular Quay, despite 150 instances being logged from onboard.
The Ruby Princess cruise ship docked in Sydney's Circular Quay
The Ruby Princess cruise ship docked in Sydney's Circular Quay Source: NSW Port Authority
Passengers were told to self-isolate at home for 14 days once they had disembarked the ship.

Some of the passengers who were infected with COVID-19 boarded domestic flights and travelled to other parts of the country, including a couple who flew to Darwin. 

The crew of the Ruby Princess stayed on board for their self-isolation period.

The Ruby Princess is one of four cruise ships that were allowed to dock in Sydney, exempt from a 30-day ban on cruise ship arrivals in Australia.

The Voyager of the Seas, which docked in Sydney on March 7 and March 18, and the Ovation of the Seas, which docked in Sydney on March 18 have also been linked to a handful of COVID-19 cases in Australia.

The Celebrity Solstice, which docked in Sydney on March 20, has been linked to one case of Coronavirus in New Zealand.
Crew members of the Cruise Ship 'Ovation of the Seas' walking past the Sydney Opera House after disembarking from the ship.
Crew members of the Cruise Ship 'Ovation of the Seas' walking past the Sydney Opera House after disembarking from the ship. Source: AAP
While the Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said he will not allow the passengers of a cruise ship headed to Fremantle disembark to "wander the streets" in a bid to protect West Australians from contracting COVID-19.

250 passengers onboard the Magnifica cruise ship have reported respiratory illness, suspected to be COVID-19. 

Mr McGowan said he had been in contact with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton about what can be done about the ship.

"I will not allow what happened in Sydney to happen here," he said.


"We will not allow passengers or crews to wander the streets.

"The issue is really anyone who is critically ill and we're going to work with medical authorities to work out what we can do to assist those people.

"We need to make sure we provide whatever medical assistance we can to people who are critically ill and we'll work with the Commonwealth as to where the ship goes and what we do with it."

There are currently 1609 cases of Coronavirus in Australia.


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3 min read
Published 23 March 2020 3:09pm
By Keira Jenkins
Source: NITV News


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