Pacific Explorer docks in Sydney with 100 COVID-19 cases

A second cruise ship has docked in Sydney with over 100 people testing positive onboard in the space of a week.

P&O’s Pacific Explorer returned to Sydney this morning after a nine-night round-trip cruise including calls to Airlie Beach, Cairns and Moreton Island, carrying about 2,800 passengers and crew, 100 of whom had tested positive for the virus.

This comes days after Coral Princess docked in Circular Quay with a confirmed 118 cases on board in an eerie throwback to the Ruby Princess outbreak of 2020.

Passengers who tested positive on board Pacific Explorer have been confined to their cabins which have been marked with red tags to stop staff from entering, according to the Australian.

The ship is scheduled to depart on a four-night cruise to Moreton Island today and plans to move infected passengers who don’t live locally to a hotel to carry out their isolation period, which will be paid for by the cruise line.

Those who do live locally will be transported home.

The cruise line said it was following Eastern Seaboard Cruise Protocols developed by federal and state authorities in conjunction with the cruise industry.

“Reflecting covid experience in the wider community, Pacific Explorer operated at amber level and, in line with now normal practice, we assisted NSW Health in its efforts to manage COVID throughout the community,” P&O said in a statement.

“In relation to arrival arrangements, guests had to perform a self-administered RAT within 24 hours of disembarkation, with the results subject to random checks.”