Covid horror as cruise ship with 800 cases docks in Sydney

A cruise ship carrying around 800 passengers with Covid has docked in Sydney. The Majestic Princess arrived at Circular Quay on Saturday morning following a 12-day trip to New Zealand.Around one in five of the 4,600 guests and crew had coronavirus.The huge outbreak is reminiscent of the Ruby Princess cruise ship, also in New South Wales, where at least 900 people tested positive in early 2020.Marguerite Fitzgerald, the president of cruise operator Carnival Australia, said cases began to be detected around day six of the excursion.She said they were all either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. A cruise ship carrying around 800 passengers with Covid has docked in Sydney (Image: GETTY) The Majestic Princess arrived at Circular Quay on Saturday morning (Image: GETTY)Ms Fitzgerald said staff would assist guests who have tested positive “with accessing private transport and accommodation to complete their isolation period”.On comparisons between the Majestic Princess and the Ruby Princess, Ms Fitzgerald said: “Since then, we as a community have learnt a lot, a lot more about Covid.’We’ve learned what works to help mitigate transmission, we’ve learnt how to keep our vulnerable people safe and it is no different in the cruise industry.’The cruise ship is due to depart for Melbourne on Saturday afternoon for an eight-day return trip to Tasmania. A person waves from the coronavirus-hit cruise ship (Image: GETTY)It comes as Covid cases are rising across Australia, which enforced strict rules during the pandemic.Some health experts hit out at the cruise ship docking in Sydney, warning it would lead to more hospitalisations.Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson tweeted: “Here’s a prediction I’m going to put money behind.”If the major public hospitals on the east coast aren’t overwhelmed with patients and facing staff shortages over the holiday break – I’ll donate $1,000 to charity.”Immunologist Alan Baxter branded it an “abject failure” on the part of politicians.He said: “As a medical practitioner who trained in the 1980s, this total and abject failure of our politicians to respond in a safe manner to Covid… Never mind ‘safe’ – this isn’t even sane.”It is no longer mandatory in New South Wales for people who test positive for Covid to self-isolate for five days after rules were lifted last month.However, the public is still advised to stay at home until their symptoms have ended.