Decision to allow Ruby Princess passengers ashore based on outdated log
The Ruby Princess cruise ship was deemed low risk by NSW Health, but the assessment was based on an outdated passenger log, an inquiry has heard.
The cruise ship, which docked in Sydney on March 19, has been linked to more than 650 cases of COVID-19 in passengers and 21 deaths.
The special commission inquiry into the Ruby Princess continues. Credit:Janie Barrett
At the special inquiry into the Ruby Princess, counsel assisting the commission Richard Beasley SC said NSW Health deemed the ship "low risk" on March 18, the day before it docked in Sydney.
The assessment was based on the ship’s log which indicated 36 of 3795 people on board, or 0.94 per cent, had presented to the medical centre with relevant flu-like symptoms.
Under the NSW government protocol for managing incoming cruise ships, if the number of flu-like cases presented was equal to or greater than 1 per cent, it would indicate an outbreak had occurred and the ship would be deemed a higher risk.
"[But] by 19 March when the ship docked, the 1 per cent level had been reached, although that data was not before the health assessment panel when their determination was made," Mr Beasley said.
In his opening remarks, he said the outbreak of COVID-19 on cruise ships “surprised no one” given the transmissibility of disease.
"These ships are very large and they have the capacity to carry thousands of passengers and crew," he said.
"On these cruises, in close proximity to each other, people eat together, drink together, danced together and watch entertainment together. Outbreaks of gastroenteritis and influenza are not uncommon."
Senior epidemiologist for NSW Health Kelly-Anne Ressler told the inquiry the COVID-19 protocol for incoming cruise ships outlined that all passengers and crew who were swabbed for influenza, would also be swabbed for COVID-19.
But only 25 COVID-19 swabs were taken on board, which Ms Ressler said was "unsatisfactory".
Ms Ressler became tearful when she apologised for how the situation had unfolded.
"It was not our intent. I and my colleagues are working very hard on this," she said. "We did what we could. And if we could do it again, it would be very different."
The inquiry in Sydney continues on Wednesday.