A cruise ship with about 2,000 guests, 900 crew and a growing COVID-19 outbreak on board has arrived at Fremantle Port, becoming the first major cruise ship to visit since the beginning of the pandemic.
The outbreak was detected on the Coral Princess shortly before the vessel arrived in Broome on Monday, about halfway through a 28-day circumnavigation of Australia.
The president of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia, Marguerite Fitzgerald, said the cases were limited and were being managed well, but noted there had been an increase in infections.
"Yesterday we undertook testing of all guests on board and we did see an increased number," she said.
"But the vast majority of our guests will be getting off in Fremantle today to enjoy the wonderful community here."
Ms Fitzgerald said more supervised rapid antigen tests had been undertaken this morning, with most guests returning negative results.
"All guests who plan to get off in Fremantle, which is the majority of them, will be tested before getting off," she said.
"I don't have an exact number, but over 90 per cent of people on board have returned negative tests in the last few days."
In accordance with Eastern Seaboard and Western Australian Cruise Protocols, all guests who test positive are required to isolate on board for five days.
"Those that have COVID will be isolating inside their cabin, they will be looked after by our onboard medical crew and also just our crew," Ms Fitzgerald said.
"As far as they are concerned, they are going to still be having their cocktails and their meals, and be looked after until they come out of isolation and then they will get back to enjoying their cruise."
Passengers welcomed in Fremantle
The cruise operator president said the Coral Princess and its passengers had been warmly welcomed by the Fremantle community and local businesses.
"Over the last few days we have put in place and ramped up the measures that we have on board to look after our guests and manage that situation on board," she said.
"I can tell you that we are managing it successfully and as a result, today the vast majority of guests will be able to get off in Fremantle to enjoy what is going to be a spectacular day.
"Whether it's going and grabbing a beer at Gage Road, or heading to the Freo Ports, they're going to be having a fantastic day."
Ms Fitzgerald said it was suspected the virus had been picked up somewhere in Australia.
"I think we have COVID everywhere in the community," she said.
"Cruise ships are really the only place now where we're actively managing with testing and tracing.
"I think if we were to test 100 per cent of people in WA right now, we would find a small number of COVID cases, just like we have on the cruise ship."
Due to rough weather, a stop in Albany in the Great Southern has been cancelled but the ship is still set to visit the South West after it departs Fremantle tomorrow.
