‘Wasn’t my call’: Doctor shocked passengers cleared to disembark
A senior doctor on-board the Ruby Princess has told a public inquiry that people on the ship had symptoms “suggestive of” COVID-19, before it docked in Sydney on March 19.
NSW
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The senior doctor on board the Ruby Princess has admitted people on the vessel had symptoms “suggestive of” COVID-19, before it docked in Sydney on March 19.
The explosive evidence was given to the first public hearing into the handling of the ship, which has been linked to more than 600 coronavirus cases and 21 deaths across the country.
The special commission of inquiry began with on-board doctor Dr Ilse Von Watzdorf.
Commissioner Bret Walker asked Dr Ilse Von Watzdorf: “Would it have been correct to say on the evening of the 18th of March, and very early on the 19th of March, that there were no passengers showing COVID-19 symptoms?”
“No,” Ilse Von Watzdorf replied.
When pressed on whether it was correct to say that there were “no signs” of COVID-19 on-board, Dr Von Watzdorf admitted she did not know.
“I don’t have a one word answer for you, because I need context. If it is in context of, is there anybody who has symptoms that could be suggestive of it? Yes,” she said.
A biosecurity report describing the health situation on-board the Ruby Princess before it docked on March 19 also became the subject of heated evidence at the inquiry.
On the form, the ship’s doctor indicated there was no-one on board that had been in contact with a “proven” case of COVID-19 within the last 14 days, Commissioner Bret Walker said.
“As far as I’m aware, nobody had contact with a known COVID-19 case,” Dr von Watzdorf said.
However, Commissioner Walker said the vessel reported 24 incidents of patients having a fever in the biosecurity questionnaire.
“For that reason alone, you as a doctor would not read your form, your human health report, as revealing no signs of COVID-19, would you,” he suggested.
“If somebody had asked me could this be consistent with COVID-19, I would have said yes,” Dr von Watzdorf said.
The ship’s senior doctor was asked repeatedly about the answers provided on the health report, including why there was no data provided to a question about whether anyone on-board had an unexplained, persistent cough.
“I can’t explain why that doesn’t have a value… there should be a value in there,” Dr von Watzdorf said.
But she said it was difficult to answer questions about the document, as she did not have it in front of her.
“I feel very disadvantaged for answering a question about a form that I actually don’t see and don’t see the context of,” Dr von Watzdorf said.
Earlier, Dr Von Watzdorf was asked whether in her medical opinion it was appropriate for “2700 people to disembark en masse,” including passengers who were awaiting COVID-19 test results.
“I was surprised at the fact that we didn’t get a screen like the previous time … It was not my decision to make,” Dr Von Watzdorf said.
Counsel Assisting Richard Beasley SC suggested to Dr Von Watzdorf that considering the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that there were sick passengers on-board awaiting test results, “it was also a risk to allow those people to go out among the community at least until the time those tests were back”.
“I would agree with you,” Dr Von Watzdorf said.
She said she had told sick passengers to expect a delay in leaving the ship on March 19.
The comments indicate the ship’s top doctor expected passengers would be held on-board until the results of COVID-19 tests were known. She said that was the process followed when the ship docked in Sydney on March 8.
“I kind of had prepared passengers that there would likely … be another delay like the previous time for disembarkation, due to needing to be assessed and swabs needing to be processed,” she said.
Previously, a NSW Health Spokesman has said that on March 8, authorities “delayed disembarkation of all passengers and crew” while passengers and crew were assessed.
Dr Von Watzdorf told the commission of inquiry that before docking on March 19, all patients who had presented to the ship’s doctors with symptoms influenza-like illness, but had tested negative for the flu, were told to stay in their cabins until further advice from NSW Health came through.
“Anybody that had a negative influenza test but presented with influenza-like illness would be kept for isolation into their cabin until we had reached Sydney,” she said.
The ship’s doctor said those patients were also tested for COVID-19, on the understanding those tests would be assessed when the vessel docked in Sydney.
The inquiry will continue on Thursday and is running parallel to a police probe that is expected to deliver its results by September.
CARNIVAL REQUESTED PRIVATE HEARING
The inquiry into the handling of the Ruby Princess is being held in public, after commissioner Bret Walker knocked back a request from the cruise operator for secret hearings.
Legal counsel appearing on behalf of Princess Cruises, and its parent company Carnival, accepted the public interest in the inquiry being held in public, but argued “there’s an equal public interest in protecting the rights of people who may be the subject of criminal investigation”.
NSW Police Strike Force Bast is currently investigating the handling of the Ruby Princess, and how 2700 patients were allowed to scatter off the ship when it docked in Sydney on March 19.
But Commissioner Bret Walker said his final report – which is due on August 14 – would be handed down long before any future criminal investigations which may be held. He said his report would be “unlikely” to have any “significant sealed section”.
Mr Walker ruled in favour of the inquiry being held in public.
“In my view, the nature of the evidence in question, which concerns the dealings of very nearly contemporaneous concern – with respect to the pandemic – is such that in a difficult balance, it ought to be struck in favour of publicity and I so rule,” he said.
RUBY PRINCESS DIRECTED TO DEPART
After more than a month in quarantine and for some a year working on the ship, the Ruby Princess crew has been directed to depart Australian waters on Thursday.
Yesterday, authorities disembarked 57 crew members who began flying home while others are expected to depart to their home countries in coming days.
The remaining workers on board the troubled ship will begin the journey to its port of origin in the Philippines tomorrow.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said today that the Australian Border Force had written to Carnival and directed that the Ruby Princess leaves Australian waters on Thursday.
“There are a number of other potential crew members who may be repatriated,” Commissioner Fuller said.
“We are waiting for information from either Carnival or other consulates in terms of absolutely fixed travel arrangements for those individuals,” he said.
“There’s around 40 crew members who are corona positive that Health are monitoring closely, and we’ll continue to work with Health between now and Thursday to bring any crew members off the ship who require urgent medical treatment.”
Most of the crew have remained in isolation on the ship and 190 of those on board had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday night.
Another 12 infected with coronavirus have previously been evacuated to NSW hospitals.
Yesterday, there were scenes of elation at Port Kembla when the first crew members were disembarked to be repatriated on flights.
Those left on board cheered and banged pots as their colleagues left the ship, with one man performing a haka for crew mates, jumping in the air and waving goodbye to those left on board as he departed for the buses.
A female crew who disembarked described leaving the ship as “surreal”.
“I never thought the day would come, I’ve been in the cabin for about a month now,” she said. “It’s slightly overwhelming … I’m absolutely delighted to be honest.”
One of the group who left yesterday and had tested positive for COVID-19, will be quarantined in a NSW Health managed hotel for 14 days before flying home, police said.
The majority evacuating the ship were from the UK, USA, New Zealand, and Canada.
It is understood NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller had been negotiating with various consulates for more than a week and plans to repatriate the crew.
Mr Fuller said yesterday that while the ship won’t be completely COVID-19 free when it departs, NSW Health had deemed it a low risk in terms of health outcomes.
“There still will be some crew members who are COVID-positive. The ship’s medical team has high levels of training the doctors and nurses, the medical facilities on board can deal with COVID-19,” he said.
The repatriation process is part of a multi-agency operation led by NSW Police Force begins.
NSW Police Force has worked closely with Australian Border Force, Australian Federal Police, NSW Health, Aspen Medical, Carnival Cruises and government officials from numerous overseas jurisdictions to ensure the safe movement and eventual return of the crew members to their countries of origin.
Investigations under Strike Force Bast surrounding the docking and disembarking of the Ruby Princess at Sydney Harbour on Thursday 19 March 2020 are continuing.
– additional reporting Nick Hansen, Gillian McNally, Jessica McSweeney
Originally published as ‘Wasn’t my call’: Doctor shocked passengers cleared to disembark