Coronavirus: Vet slams Premier’s ‘scare tactics’ over WA sheep vessel outbreak
The Australian veterinarian from Al Kuwait sheep ship has slammed the WA Premier and Police Commissioner over the handling of the saga.
The Australian veterinarian from the sheep ship responsible for Western Australia’s latest coronavirus outbreak has slammed the state’s Premier and Police Commissioner over the handling of the saga, accusing the pair of “propagating fear” about the virus.
Herbert “Reb” Rebhan is among dozens of crew from the Al Kuwait sheep ship who are now in isolation in a Perth hotel. Some 12 crew members from the ship have tested positive to the coronavirus since its arrival in Fremantle last week, driving a spike in the number of active cases in WA.
Speaking to The Australian, the doctor criticised the Premier, Mark McGowan, and Police Commissioner Chris Dawson for suggesting the ship knew there were cases of coronavirus on board before it arrived at Fremantle and that the crew posed a threat to the WA community.
“For Premier McGowan to suggest we knowingly brought coronavirus in, that’s very harmful and hurtful to suggest we deliberately put other people at risk,” Dr Rebhan said.
“He’s making political hay out of that, and it’s wrong.”
The ship’s arrival also triggered a war of words between Mr McGowan and federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud after the Premier said the federal Department of Agriculture and Border Force had failed to pass on information about illnesses on board the ship.
Mr McGowan later acknowledged that the WA health department had in fact received an email before the ship docked.
The Al Kuwait and its crew had been at sea since March 4, with its crew remaining on board throughout as a result of quarantine restrictions introduced around the world. The crew had worn PPE and maintained distance from those onshore while loading and unloading livestock, Dr Rebhan said, adding he believed the virus must have found its way on board in supplies delivered to the ship.
He said four crew members who initially showed symptoms were all fit to work when the vessel docked at Fremantle. “Everybody in the medical profession would know antibiotics do not cure viruses, they do not speed the resolution of viral conditions. We had such a rapid response to the antibiotic therapy that it led me to believe the sinusitis (and) sore throats were bacterial in origin.
“We never had the chronic dry coughing. We never had guys complaining of trouble breathing.”
Dr Rebhan, who will turn 61 next week, said he had no fears about contracting the virus.
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