Face-mask clad passengers on board The Spectrum of the Seas cruise liner arrived at Sydney Harbour on Thursday, just hours after Australia launched an emergency plan to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
The Royal Caribbean ship pulled into port with about 30 people on board, many who wore protective masks as they disembarked.
As they stepped onto Australian soil, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the nation a coronavirus pandemic was ‘very much upon us’.
Passengers on board The Spectrum of the Seas cruise liner arrive at Sydney Harbour on Thursday. Some were seen wearing face masks
Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared that a coronavirus pandemic is ‘very much upon us’ on Thursday. People are seen taking photographs of the Sydney Opera House as the ship arrived
The Royal Caribbean ship (pictured) pulled into port on Thursday bringing about 30 crew members to Australian soil
A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia no guests were on board the ship when it arrived on Thursday.
She said the passengers were crew members sent to Australia to cater for firefighters who will be taken on a free four-day cruise along the country’s east coast starting on Saturday to thank them for their efforts tackling the summer’s bushfires.
The spokeswoman said the ship has not been in China for more than two weeks, exceeding the public health guidelines.
One male cruise ship employee wears a face mask as he gets off the Royal Caribbean ship in Sydney on Thursday
Crew members are transported from the cruise liner to the shores of Sydney on a yellow merchant ship
Royal Caribbean earlier this month announced dates for two free cruises open to volunteers who helped battle the bushfire crisis.
The first four-night cruise will leave on Saturday, with the second on March 7. Both will travel north along Australia’s coast before returning to Sydney.
Around 7,000 first responders and their families have booked for the complimentary voyage.
‘We are in a fortunate position to give back to the brave and dedicated members of our community and their families by presenting them with the chance to join us for a few days to relax,’ Royal Caribbean managing director Gavin Smith said.
About 30 crew members were brought to Australia on the Spectrum of the Seas, ahead of a free cruise for volunteer firefighters
Two female cruise ship workers put on their face masks as coronavirus fears heighten across the globe
Earlier this month, 200 passengers on board the Diamond Princess ship were trapped on the quarantined vessel in Japan for two weeks after a former passenger tested positive for the virus.
The Prime Minister on Thursday instructed Health Minister Greg Hunt to identify ‘gaps in capabilities’ within Australia’s state-based health services as they combat the spread of the deadly, flu-like illness from China.
‘We believe that the risk of a pandemic is very much upon us,’ he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
‘We need to take the steps necessary to prepare for such a pandemic.’
Crew members are seen arriving in Sydney on Thursday. The World Health Organisation is yet to describe coronavirus as a pandemic
People are seen taking in the sights of Sydney Harbour on Thursday after The Spectrum of the Seas arrived
Mr Morrison said that during the past 24 hours, the ‘rate of transmission of the virus outside of China is fundamentally changing the way we need to look at how this issue is being managed here in Australia’.
‘As a result, we’ve agreed today and initiated the implementation of the coronavirus emergency response plan,’ he said.
‘Based on the expert medical advice we have received, there is every indication the world will enter a pandemic phase of the coronavirus.’
The Australian government has declared the emergency response plan a day after the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention forecast it would turn into a pandemic.
It is being co-ordinated by the National Security Committee.
‘As a government, we need to take the steps necessary to prepare for such a pandemic,’ Mr Morrison said.
The World Health Organisation is yet to describe coronavirus as a pandemic.
The Prime Minister on Thursday also extended the travel ban to China for another week.
This picture taken on December 31, 2019 shows firefighters struggling against the strong wind in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra
Fire Rescue Queensland crews are pictured on January 5, 2020 in Wingello in NSW
The COVID-19 coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people worldwide since it originated in December at an animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
That included 23 people in Australia.
Another eight Australians had been flown from the Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama in Japan to a quarantine centre near Darwin, where they tested positive.
Coronavirus has killed more than 2,600 people globally and can cause severe lung damage and trigger multiple organ failure, particularly among the elderly or frail.
In Australia 16 per cent of the population are over 65, compared to just nine per cent in China, where some 2,700 have died.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the nation on Thursday a coronavirus pandemic was ‘very much upon us’