A judge has been told that embarking on the Ruby Princess at the beginning of the pandemic with the assumption that it was COVID-free was “very stupid.”
Susan Karpik, a former nurse and the lead plaintiff in a class action against Carnival, gave evidence in Federal Court on Monday where she said she was very naive in expecting the Ruby Princess to be COVID-free before the cruise left Sydney on 8 March 2020.
“We had assumed there was no coronavirus on that ship when we boarded … and I recognise now it was probably very stupid now of us to have that view,” Karpik told Justice Angus Stewart.
Kaprik said that at the time, she expected Princess Cruises to be on top of the COVID situation, either cancelling the cruise if the virus was detected or giving passengers the option to leave. She is seeking damages and alleging Princess failed in its responsibility to take reasonable care of its passengers. Carnival has said it will defend against these claims in court.
Kaprik’s claim revolves around her husband, Henry, who had to be placed in a four-week coma and provided ongoing care after contracting COVID.
Of the 1,679 Australians onboard the ship, 663 recorded positive COVID cases and 28 died.
Kaprik’s husband tested positive for influenza A while on board, but wasn’t tested for COVID, she told the court.
“He asked the ship’s doctor if he could be tested and she said that the tests were not available, the helicopter hadn’t dropped them off yet,” Kaprik said.
When the ship returned to Sydney on 19 March 2020, the couple returned home. Henry was admitted to Wollongong hospital on 21 March and put into an induced coma the following day.
When cross-examined by Princess Cruises’ barrister, David McClure SC, Kaprik mentioned she had discussed COVID with her son-in-law, who is a doctor.
“He actually said that cruise ships from his perspective were Petri dishes and the risk of infection was high for any illness or any condition,” she told the court.
The cross-examination led to a discussion of Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess, where about 700 passengers became infected with COVID near Japan in February 2020. Kaprik said she expected the cruise line to take extra precautions in light of what had happened with the Diamond Princess.
The court heard that the couple was aware that COVID was fatal and highly contagious. However, Kaprik said she knew that the virus was circulating in the northern hemisphere, but not that 70 people in Australia had caught it and two had died.
Kaprik said she felt Princess Cruises would be “100 per cent cautious” about staff across the globe coming aboard its ship.
“We might have been terribly mistaken, but we felt that the cruise company had an obligation to us as customers that that screening would happen,” Kaprik said.
She told the court that she felt reassured the cruise line was barring travellers who had been to China, Hong Kong or Macau.
When her questioning continued, she admitted there was some risk of catching COVID on the cruise.
“Probably much the same as if we were shopping in a busy shopping centre or whatever. The risk is always there,” Kaprik said.
The Guardian reported that she later backtracked on this claim, saying she wasn’t sure if it was in regard to influenza or gastro. Kaprik emphasised she had not seen any risk of catching COVID on the cruise before getting on the ship.
The hearing continues.
