Coronavirus: Two Diamond Princess passengers test positive for coronavirus at Darwin site

Two Australians evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for COVID-19 at a Darwin quarantine centre.

Australian evacuees, from the coronavirus-struck cruise ship Diamond Princess. Picture: AAP

Two Australians evacuated from the coronavirus-struck cruise ship Diamond Princess have tested positive at a quarantine centre outside Darwin, with one being flown to Western Australia on Friday night.

The pair, described by health authorities as “one younger person and one elderly person”, were to be flown to their home states of South Australia and WA.

The positive cases were among six people isolated overnight after showing flu-like symptoms on ­arrival in Darwin on Thursday.

Four other people tested negative for the virus. A seventh person was being tested on Friday after developing a “mild cough”.

A man in his 70s was being flown to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on Friday night for treatment along with his spouse, who will also be assessed and quarantined within the hospital or placed in home-isolation for 14 days.

Acting Northern Territory Chief Health Officer Dianne Stephens said there was no danger to the public, staff or other evacuees, adding that the patients had mild symptoms.

“Those people remain well and mildly ill with cold-like symptoms and they do not necessarily need to be in the hospital system, but more than likely will enter the hospital system in their home states while they managed the COVID-19 quarantine and isolation procedures,” she said.

“The majority, 80–90 per cent of people (with coronavirus), have very mild symptoms like the common cold, for which you do not need to be in hospital.

“The other small minority of people with COVID-19 can go on to develop serious disease. That happens slowly over a number of days, and so both individuals will be taken into their hospital systems to see whether or not they’re going to improve or deteriorate.”

The six suspected cases were identified as people who had disembarked from the evacuation flight on Thursday. They were transferred to the quarantine ­facility on a separate bus.

“These may not be the only two people with COVID-19 infection during this period. Every day we will screen, we will isolate people, and we will test them,” Dr Stephens said. “Anybody with any symptoms is being isolated.”

Scott Morrison said 15 other people in Australia had tested positive for coronavirus, 10 of whom had recovered.

More than 40 Australians with the disease remain in Japan.