Elderly couple who caught coronavirus on Ruby Princess claim not told other guests had symptoms

An elderly couple who caught coronavirus on the Ruby Princess claim cruise ship staff kept them in the dark about other guests on board who had symptoms of the illness.

NSW Health on Sunday confirmed 26 passengers from the ship tested positive to COVID-19, after it was allowed to dock in Sydney on March 19. 

Seventeen passengers and one crew member were diagnosed in NSW while eight passengers have been diagnosed interstate. 

Michael Dobrin, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor, and his wife Rona, 75, disembarked in Sydney on Thursday and tested positive to COVID-19 on Saturday.

Ruby Princess was one of four ships controversially allowed to unload thousands of passengers at Sydney Harbour despite the government having announced a 30-day ban on cruise arrivals.

Ms Dobrin said she and her husband developed a cough a day or two before the ship docked, but had no other symptoms.

Michael Dobrin, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor, and his wife Rona, 75, caught coronavirus on the Ruby Princess and claim the cruise ship kept them in the dark about guests who had symptoms on board

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 1,349

New South Wales: 533

Victoria: 296

Queensland: 259

Western Australia: 120

South Australia: 100

Tasmania: 17

Australian Capital Territory: 19

Northern Territory: 5

TOTAL CASES:  1,349

DEAD: 7

She claimed they were not told that others on board were sick with flu-like symptoms, so they didn’t worry.

‘They didn’t tell us a thing, nothing. A note under the door would have been enough,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

‘We would have isolated ourselves in the cabin if we’d known. We’re not spring chickens, we’re high risk.’

Reports have since emerged that the ship logged 158 illnesses before it arrived in Sydney and unloaded 2,700 passengers.

Princess Cruises told Daily Mail Australiua it did not test for coronavirus on board.

‘The protocol is for swabs to be taken of ill guests who report flu like symptoms which are then submitted to the relevant public health authority for testing,’ it said. 

Ruby Princess (pictured on Thursday) was one of four ships controversially allowed to unload thousands of passengers on Sydney Harbour despite a 30-day ban on cruise arrivals

Ruby Princess (pictured on Thursday) was one of four ships controversially allowed to unload thousands of passengers on Sydney Harbour despite a 30-day ban on cruise arrivals 

Ms Dobrin said passengers were not kept abreast of how much the coronavirus situation had deteriorated back on dry land since the voyage began on March 8 and were not advised of the need to take extra precautions. 

‘Everyone was mingling, there was no social distancing because we weren’t told we needed to be doing that,’ she said. 

‘It’s like the medical advice was frozen in time from when we got on board even though it was changing rapidly outside.’

Passengers were finally told after the ship left Napier that New Zealand’s borders were closed and they would be returning to Sydney.

But Ms Dobrin said even after that, passengers were allowed to wander freely around the ship. 

‘People were going down to the pool, we were lying in the sun, eating in the dining room, dancing, seeing shows,’ she said.

Passengers were not screened when they disembarked on Thursday and the couple didn’t think to get tested until news broke of the other cases. 

Ms Dobrin said she and her husband developed a cough a day or two before the ship docked, but had no other symptoms. They got tested after news broke of the other cases

Ms Dobrin said she and her husband developed a cough a day or two before the ship docked, but had no other symptoms. They got tested after news broke of the other cases

Mr Dobrin said he had survived much worse as his family if German Jews fled the Nazis for China just before World War II when he was a baby, then endured Japanese occupation and the violent civil war - but at least he could see those threats

Mr Dobrin said he had survived much worse as his family if German Jews fled the Nazis for China just before World War II when he was a baby, then endured Japanese occupation and the violent civil war – but at least he could see those threats

They went to St Vincent’s Hospital on Saturday morning, which they said was fast and efficient, and were told their positive results by phone that night.

‘We’ve been on many cruises and one of us always gets a cold so we thought it was just that until we heard,’ Ms Dobrin said.

‘People have been let off the ship, with no testing, flying all over the place without knowing they might have it.

‘I’m seething with bloody rage. Princess Cruises has a lot to answer for. We should all start a class action lawsuit.’

Ms Dobrin said she was particularly concerned about two friends they travelled with who have flown back to Tampa in Florida via Houston.

‘She had a cold and a fever which is a worry. I sent her a message telling her to go and get tested because we were in such close contact,’ she said.

‘We planned the trip together and spent all our time together, ate every meal together.’

Mr Dobrin said he had a cough and some aches and pains in recent days, but the couple were recovering well at their home in Bellevue Hill.

He credited his daily gym regimen, even every morning on the cruise, and twice-weekly golf sessions for his mild case.

The cruise liner had been considered 'low risk' after a short cruise from Australia to New Zealand

The cruise liner had been considered ‘low risk’ after a short cruise from Australia to New Zealand

Mr Dobrin said he had survived much worse as his family if German Jews fled the Nazis for China just before World War II when he was a baby.

He then survived years in the Shanghai Ghetto after the Japanese invaded and eventually settled in Australia as a refugee in 1948, aged 10.

‘There were bombs dropping everywhere during the war,’ he said.

‘Then in the Chinese Civil War I was running for cover with my mother as bullets were whizzing by and seeing people getting decapitated in the street.’

However, he said in some ways coronavirus was more concerning because it was more difficult to avoid.

‘At least then you knew who your enemy was, you could see them,’ he said.

‘With coronavirus, it could be anyone, you don’t know who’s got it, they don’t even know, or what surface you could catch it from.’

Ms Dobrin said she was worried they had passed the virus on to their son, who lives with them, and to the chauffeur driver who took them home.

‘He now can’t work for two weeks and won’t be getting any money. We feel so bad for him,’ she said.

The ship is pictured departing Sydney Harbour with no crew or passengers on Thursday

The ship is pictured departing Sydney Harbour with no crew or passengers on Thursday

The couple’s daughter Nikki Dobrin said Princess Cruises would have known enough about coronavirus in early March that they should have cancelled it 

‘It’s beyond comprehension that the cruise company would have lied and not cancelled the cruise out of concern for public health and safety,’ she said.

‘Also that the NSW government didn’t properly screen or sequester people when the ship docked in Sydney.’

The couple accepted 75 per cent discount on a cruise of Britain and Ireland next year and 25 per cent more in food and drink credit.

However, they said after their experience on the most recent trip meant they would never go on another Princess cruise ever again.

Passengers are pictured disembarking from the Ruby Princess at Circular Quay on Thursday

Passengers are pictured disembarking from the Ruby Princess at Circular Quay on Thursday 

Princess Cruises said its health management standards were are at a higher level than might be found on airlines or other modes of transport. 

‘Disembarkation from a ship is subject to a health clearance being received from the relevant public health authority, a practice that has been a longstanding feature of shipping,’ it said.

NSW Health is desperately trying to contact the 2,700 passengers, a third of which are not form Australia, to let them know they could be infected.

‘It is actually serious, because if we have nearly 2,700 people that were passengers on that ship, we want to know every single one of them is in quarantine,’ NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

‘If you know somebody who came in yesterday from the Ruby Princess, do our community a very big favour and have a chat and make sure that they are given this clear message.

‘Put yourself in a self-isolation. Follow the rules, and if you’re feeling ill, any of the symptoms that might be related to COVID-19, then make sure you contact a medical practitioner.’ 

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