Ruby Princess cruise ship is ‘most likely’ the cause of Tasmania’s deadly coronavirus outbreak

Ruby Princess cruise ship is ‘most likely’ the cause of Tasmania’s deadly coronavirus outbreak that has left 12 dead

• Eleven of Tasmania’s 12 coronavirus deaths have been in the north west of state
• Government report says the Ruby Princess is ‘most likely’ to blame for cluster
• Cruise ship has been linked to at least 21 deaths nationally and over 600 cases 
• Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

By Australian Associated Press

Published: 01:11 BST, 30 April 2020 | Updated: 01:20 BST, 30 April 2020

The ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship is the ‘most likely’ cause of a deadly coronavirus outbreak in northwest Tasmania, a state government report has revealed.

Eleven of the state’s 12 virus deaths have been in the region, the latest an 86-year-old woman on Wednesday, Premier Peter Gutwein confirmed.

Mr Gutwein released findings of an investigation into the cluster, in which scores of health workers and hospital patients in Burnie tested positive.

The ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship is the ‘most likely’ cause of a deadly coronavirus outbreak in northwest Tasmania, a state government report has revealed

‘What the report confirms is that most likely that ‘ground zero’ for the outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital was the Ruby Princess,’ he said.

Of the state’s 219 cases ,146 have occurred in the northwest.

Mr Gutwein said many health care staff at the North West Regional Hospital had symptoms while working but were unaware they had the virus.

‘This is simply a case of people going about their lives, going about their jobs,’ he said.

‘This dreadful set of circumstances has ensued and has wreaked havoc and misery on so many people.

‘Nobody should use this report to ascribe blame to anyone. What we have is a dedicated health workforce, what we have is a highly infectious disease.’

Australia’s coronavirus death toll has risen to 91 following the death of an 86-year-old woman in Tasmania

Tasmania’s first three fatalities, including two people at the North West Regional Hospital, had been passengers aboard the Ruby Princess.

The North West Regional Hospital and its private counterpart were shut earlier this month to undergo a deep clean, although some services have since resumed.

Twenty-one of the nation’s virus deaths were passenger on the cruise ship, which allowed disembarkation in Sydney before test results were returned.

 

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