Sydney - Two passengers and a crew member on a cruise ship that
has docked in Sydney have been found to have tested positive for
coronavirus, health authorities said Friday.
The Ruby Princess docked in Sydney on Thursday after a cruise around
New Zealand with 2,700 passengers on board with 1100 crew.
When the ship arrived at port, doctors tested 13 people on board who
felt unwell. The rest were allowed to go home and told they needed to
self-isolate for 14 days.
The tests took 24 hours to come back, and health authorities said
Friday three people had returned positive tests.
"Two of the three positive results were people who were passengers on
board the ship," New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard told
reporters.
The infected crew member is confined to the ship which is now
anchored off the coast south of Sydney. Five cruise ships are now
anchored off the coast, with only crew on board.
Hazzard said health officials were contacting the 2,700 passengers
who had returned home after the cruise to ensure they were complying
with the 14-day self-quarantine imposed on all people entering
Australia from overseas.
Australia's death toll from the virus rose on Friday to seven, with
more than 700 people testing positive.
From 9 pm Friday (1000 GMT) only Australian citizens, permanent
residents or those with direct family members will be allowed to
enter the country.
Meanwhile, prime minister Scott Morrison advised Australians to keep
a four-square-metre gap around them in enclosed spaces to stem the
spread of coronavirus.
"These are rules we are imposing to slow the spread of coronavirus
according to our advice from health experts," Morrison told reporters
on Friday.
It comes on top of social distancing measures that have already been
applied including no spectators at open sports stadiums and a limit
of 100 people in enclosed spaces.
Morrison said schools will stay open despite these new spacing
requirements and acknowledged the hospitality industry would take a
hard hit.
Morrison also announced the federal budget will be postponed from
mid-May until October due to the "great uncertainty that exists."
He said the crisis will last at least six months, but it could be
even longer.
He warned Australians to expect cases of coronavirus to grow, but
"there is a way through" the crisis.