Australia urges Ruby Princess passengers to self isolate after 4 test positive for virus

Australian authorities started a hunt for 2,700 passengers that got off the New Zealand-bound Ruby Princess cruise ship on March 19 in the central Sydney. According to reports, after allowing the passengers to get off the ship, authorities discovered that four travellers from the cruise had tested positive for coronavirus. Now, the Australian health authorities are looking for the passengers who got off the Ruby Princess on Thursday and are asking them to self-isolate.

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New South Wales state health minister Brad Hazzard reportedly said that the matter is of grave concern as there may well be other passengers from the ship who could have had coronavirus and they unknowingly disembarked in Sydney with the disease. Hazzard further added that passengers had provided their emails and phone numbers and the officials are making every effort to locate them. 

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Australia has so far recorded 814 cases of coronavirus, of which 58 cases came in the last 24 hours. According to data acquired by worldometer, 46 patients in the country have recovered fully. The data shows, Australia has logged in seven deaths since the virus first broke out in December last year. The total number of active cases in the country is above 761 of which one patient remain under critical condition. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The COVID-19 has claimed more than 10,000 lives across the world and has infected nearly 2,45,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China is the most affected country in the world as experts believe that the virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. Italy, Iran and Spain are the most affected countries outside mainland China, where, as of March 17 the combined death toll stands at 5,520. Italy has now surpassed China to record the most number of deaths in the world due to the virus outbreak.

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