COVID-19 – Coral Princess Cruise Ship

NSW Health works with maritime agencies and other state and territory health authorities ahead of scheduled arrivals of cruise ships in NSW.

Cruise operators are responsible for keeping passengers and crews safe from infectious diseases including COVID-19, in line with the Eastern Seaboard Cruise Protocols.

NSW Health is liaising with the Coral Princess cruise ship to monitor the health of its passengers and crew members.

While a small number of passengers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since boarding the Coral Princess, their infections were most likely acquired prior to boarding and they subsequently tested positive.

The vast majority of COVID-19 cases on the ship are currently in crew members. All COVID-positive people are isolating and being cared for by the onboard medical team.

NSW Health’s assessment is that the COVID-19 risk level for the Coral Princess during this cruise is amber, which indicates a moderate impact to the vessel.

The ship is currently en route to the port of Eden on the South Coast of NSW. No crew members will disembark and all passengers disembarking will be requested to return a negative RAT result first.

To further minimise the risk of transmission, passengers on shore tours will also be advised to wear masks when on transport or in other public indoor spaces, physically distance wherever possible and to regularly use hand sanitiser.

All crew members must be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations to work on a cruise ship, according to the protocols.

Passengers aged 12 and over should have received at least two doses of a COVID- 19 vaccine and it is strongly recommended they are also up to date with their boosters.

The ship is also scheduled to be in Sydney for one day on Wednesday 13 July before
travelling to Brisbane.