New Covid outbreak in Australia

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Health authorities say a dual outbreak of Covid and gastroenteritis onboard a cruise liner is now over after it docked in Adelaide with only a handful of sick passengers.

Transcript

00:00 Sailing in its sunrise, the Grand Princess docks in Adelaide, many of its passengers

00:06 taking the chance to explore the city, some still recovering from being unwell.

00:11 You are very lucky if you escape without anything, you know, but yeah, it's just something that

00:17 goes around.

00:18 Health authorities have confirmed that the ship with 2,500 passengers on board was hit

00:23 with dual COVID and gastro outbreaks that are now under control.

00:27 Some passengers say they weren't told about COVID infections.

00:31 We were not informed, were we?

00:33 No.

00:34 No, we were not informed.

00:35 Those on board the Grand Princess left Melbourne two days ago.

00:39 Many had also been part of a 14-day return trip to Cairns, which included stops in Sydney

00:44 and Brisbane.

00:45 Jodie Brockhus says three of her 11 family members had been ill.

00:49 Oh, it's all throughout the ship, so between deck five to seven, all you can smell is sewage.

00:56 In a statement, Princess Cruises downplayed the health concerns, and while the company

01:00 wouldn't reveal the number of people impacted, it says only a handful now remain unwell.

01:06 The cruise ship outbreak comes as COVID numbers across the country continue to rise, prompting

01:11 a warning from health authorities in the lead up to Christmas.

01:15 We have got a COVID wave happening, and the most important thing for all of us to think

01:20 about are people who are going to be more susceptible to infection.

01:23 The latest COVID figures show an increase in prescriptions for antiviral medications

01:28 across Australia, while the number of patients with COVID in intensive care has also risen.

01:34 Many people had a booster earlier in February, but this is to have a second booster, particularly

01:40 as we're going into this wave.

01:43 More hospitals too are stepping up their precautions with the reintroduction of mask mandates.

01:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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