Coronavirus: NSW health chiefs defend handling of Ruby Princess cruise outbreak

NSW’s Health Minister and top medico have struggled to explain why sick passengers were allowed off ship without being tested for COVID-19 | WATCH

NSW Minister for Health Brad Hazzard and Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant face the media in Sydney on Saturday.

NSW Health authorities have defended their handling of the Ruby Princess cruise fiasco, saying they believed it was only flu circulating aboard the infected ship, and not COVID-19.

But they have struggled to explain why passengers with respiratory illness were allowed to disembark onto the streets of Sydney without first being tested and cleared of coronavirus.

Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant apologised to the families of seven people who died after disembarking the ship, but insisted NSW Health officers had acted appropriately, despite leaked emails confirming the ship’s medical staff had alerted NSW authorities of sick passengers on board.

Coronavirus Update: NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and Health Minister @BradHazzard. #7NEWS https://t.co/iVIiQWkfp8

— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) April 4, 2020

Dr Chant said testing conducted on the ship revealed low-level influenza was circulating, but it “didn't breach the outbreak level of flu.”
“The majority of patients, over half of the samples that were collected at the time, showed that the cause of illness was flu,” Dr Chant said.
“While I agree that there was evidence of a respiratory virus circulating.... the point of care testing, showing flu on it, and the level of activity didn't go across that threshold, which was the 1% threshold.”

Dr Chant said there was nothing communicated to the state's public health doctors that “that COVID-19 was suspected by the doctor on the ship”. Cruise ships are unable to test for the virus on board.

The leaked emails revealed NSW requested 15 swabs to be submitted for COVID-19 testing and all 2,700 disembarking passengers were to self-isolate for 14 days.
“If we had known that COVID-19 was on this ship, or it had been suspected... we would have got them off as quickly as possible," Dr Chant said.

She conceded decision making could have been “wiser.”

“Hindsight is a great thing and clearly, all I can say is... a team of professionals considered the information. I think it is clear that the influenza outbreak on the ship or the influenza activity on the ship did leave them to conclude that the respiratory illness [on board] was due to influenza activity.”

“In retrospect, clearly a couple of patients who disembarked did have COVID-19 and I think in [retrospect] we could all be wiser.”

Under intense questioning by reporters in Sydney on Saturday, a defensive Health Minister Brad Hazzard distanced himself from allegations that he was responsible for the fiasco, saying he was “dealing with all other issues.”

But he backed the decision of four senior health officials who made the call to disembark passengers.
“I want to point out that some of these staff have worked for between ten and thirty years making these sorts of decisions. They bring to it the world's best expertise," Mr Hazzard said.

“One of these very senior people involved in the decision making has actually made assessments on literally thousands of these ships.”

Dr Chant said having watched the lessons of the Diamond Princess in Japan, NSW Health had planned a method to disembark passengers if they suspected COVID-19 on the ship.

“We had always planned to ensure self-isolation for people in the Sydney region, safe transport home through use of health share and other modes of transport and also using hotels for the accommodation of people"

NSW Health understands the passengers acquired the infection on the cruise ship which docked on March 19 in Sydney.

“A couple of people may have acquired it earlier on with earlier onset dates and may have acquired it from other means,” said Dr Chant.

She pointed to some crew members working in food preparation being unwell as partly responsible for the acceleration in cases.

Mr Hazzard said the state's protocols for cruise ships had ramped up since mid-February.

“The assessment process that has been undertaken in regards to all cruise ships since February 14 by New South Wales Health was actually far higher than what was required at the time, even after the changes that came into play on March 6.”

He said since February 14, the state's health authorities had requested additional information, including medical log books from all cruises that docked in Sydney Harbour.

The state Opposition Leader Jodi McKay called on Mr Hazzard to resign.

“We have had more than 600 infections and seven deaths. The cover-up must stop. Accountability must begin,” she said on Twitter.
There are now 2,493 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, including 12 deaths.

On Saturday, the NSW Health confirmed another 104 cases of coronavirus as of 8pm Friday.