Brad Hazzard puts cruise line in frame for coronavirus Ruby Princess fallout

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has laid a significant amount of blame on Carnival Australia over the Ruby Princess cruise ship fiasco.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard in Sydney on Monday. Picture: Jonathan Ng

NSW Health Minister Brad ­Hazzard has laid the blame for the Ruby Princess cruise ship fiasco with its parent company, Princess Cruises, saying it should have never allowed the vessel to set sail and missed opportunities to prevent a tragedy.

Speaking to The Australian, Mr Hazzard said the Ruby Princess should not have left Sydney on its March 8 voyage to New Zealand, and there were ample warning signs for the company to heed, including those given by the World Health Organisation in late January about COVID-19, and the outbreak on-board the Diamond Princess in February.

Princess Cruises is owned by Carnival Corporation, which is headquartered in the US.

At the time the Ruby Princess set sail, cases of COVID-19 had only just emerged in Australia — the federal government had not closed the nation’s borders to incoming cruise ships and people were still permitted to take international flights.

But it had been more than a month since the outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the Diamond Princess, prompting international headlines and concerns about the spread of coronavirus on the high seas. Mr Hazzard said Carnival and the cruise ship industry in general should have halted all voyages based on these signals, saying they had “five weeks” of evidence pointing to “likely very negative outcomes” if cruising were to continue.

In addition to those warning signs, he said the WHO had declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, plenty of time to be a “major wake-up call”.

“My view is that Princess Cruises should have ceased cruising without waiting for the federal government’s ‘stop cruising’ ­direction.

“That would have stopped the unfortunate outcomes we have seen since,” he said.

The WHO eventually declared a pandemic on March 11, three days into the Ruby Princess’s voyage. Mr Hazzard said the cruise should have ceased immediately and turned back to Sydney.

“Carnival let the cruise continue even after the pandemic dec­laration … for another eight days. That has proved to be a very unfortunate decision,” he said.

“Every day that cruise continued around New Zealand and in international waters has obviously had extremely unfortunate opportunities for the virus to spread.”

He added that passengers would undoubtedly seek legal advice to challenge “whether Carnival breached its duty of care”.

Shine Lawyers is understood to be putting together a class action lawsuit against the company. The cruise has claimed the lives of 18 passengers across the country.

A Princess Cruises spokesman said the company introduced a ­series of measures that were consistent with the “best international public health practices and ­advice” before the Ruby Princess departed Sydney.

“Swabs from Ruby Princess tested by NSW Health on March 8 had returned negative and on this basis there was no reason to ­believe there was coronavirus on the ship,” the spokesman said. “A recent NSW Health statement has said that it was possible some passengers who boarded Ruby Princess on March 8 were already infectious with coronavirus. We have concluded that coronavirus was more widespread in the general community than was apparent at the time.”

Earlier on Monday, Mr Hazzard admonished a Sydney aged-care nurse for continuing to work for six days ­despite feeling unwell. The nurse, who worked at Anglicare Newmarch House in Caddens in suburban Penrith, has now tested positive for COVID-19 along with at least one of the facility’s residents.

Mr Hazzard said it was imperative any health staff or essential workers in contact with vulnerable members of the community refrained from working if they felt sick. “We have talked about this numerous times, but now it ­appears some staff are still going to work, even when they have flu-like symptoms,” he said.

“No doubt (this nurse) thought she was doing the right thing. Unfortunately, she wasn’t doing the right thing.

“The message is don’t go to work if you are unwell. If you are working in an aged-care facility and working with the most vulnerable people in the state, if you are feeling ill, don’t go to work.

“There will be disastrous consequences if you are working with some of the most vulnerable ­people. Please don’t go to work if you are feeling sick. Just don’t go.”

Anglicare Sydney said in a statement that it was informed on Saturday night that the staff member had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

“All residents in the home are in self-isolation in their own rooms,” the statement said.

“All staff have been directed to wear full personal protective equipment when caring for ­residents.”