Information given to the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 has confirmed that Ruby Princess continued to update the federal human health reporting system into the evening prior to the ship’s arrival in Sydney on March 19. The information supplied by the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment in an answer to a question on notice shows that the ship updated the Maritime Arrival Reporting System (MARS) at 7.21pm on March 18, which was seven hours prior to the ship berthing at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. It reported that 128 people on board had reported illness.
The ship’s initial MARS submission was lodged on March 16 at 1.46pm. This was followed by updates on March 16 at 3.01pm and then on March 18 at 8.54am and a further update at 7.21pm on March 18. The ship berthed in Sydney at 2.29am the following morning.
As the answer to the question on notice confirmed, in the case of NSW, relevant health officials have direct access to information contained in MARS submissions including vessel pre-arrival and human health reports.
Princess Cruises has noted the information given to the Senate committee because it shows that the ship had continued to update the official MARS health status of the ship.
It also shows that an increase in the number of passengers and crew who were ill had been reported to the official human health reporting mechanism.
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