The sister ship of the infamous Ruby Princess - once linked to one in eight coronavirus cases in NSW - has docked on the South Coast while crew members isolate with COVID-19.
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The Coral Princess arrived at Eden on Tuesday and is expected to reach Sydney on Wednesday, where it will remain for one day before returning to Brisbane.
On Tuesday, there were 118 confirmed COVID cases on board, almost all among crew members, and NSW Health labelled it with the second highest of four risk levels.
Read more: Qld virus outbreak spreads to cruise ship
Its sister ship, the Ruby Princess, docked at Port Kembla for almost three weeks in 2020 after passengers disembarked in Sydney and sparked several COVID outbreaks, leading to hundreds of cases and 28 deaths.
NSW Health said it was liaising with the Coral Princess to monitor the health of crew and passengers.
"While a small number of passengers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since boarding the Coral Princess, their infections were most likely acquired prior to boarding and they subsequently tested positive," NSW Health said.
The ship now carries an "amber" risk level, the second highest of four risk levels and means staffing and resources are impacted, NSW Health says.
Any passengers disembarking in Eden will need to return a negative rapid antigen test result first, and crew will not be allowed off the ship. Passengers on shore tours will also be advised to weak masks.
A Princess Cruises spokesman said on Tuesday positive cases were detected in crew members through regular surveillance testing, in line with the protocols to resume cruising in May, which also require crew to be vaccinated.
A recent full-screening detected further cases.
"These crew members are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms," the spokesman said.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he had received advice about the ship's journey but the situation was still developing.
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the outbreak may deter some people from cruise holidays, but governments had been clear about how COVID-19 was being managed in the community.
"The health response now is quite different to what it was at other stages of the pandemic," he told reporters on Tuesday.
The Coral Princess was the first to make Brisbane's International Cruise Terminal its home port last month.
Australian Associated Press
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