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https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cruise-ships-shouldn-t-be-able-to-flush-sick-passengers-into-the-community-20221112-p5bxpy.html>
"Have we learnt precisely nothing from the Ruby Princess debacle in 2020, which
led to the deaths of 28 people and unleashed a COVID-19 wave that could have
overwhelmed the Australian health system?
Sure, almost three years later most of us are vaxxed and boosted and an influx
of COVID-19 cases can do less damage – but should a behemoth like the Majestic
Princess be free to flush out more than 660 sick passengers into the community
with nothing more than a warning to stay off public transport?
We are already experiencing our fourth COVID-19 wave, according to Chief
Medical Officer Dr Kerry Chant, with a tripling of cases in the 24 hours to
Thursday. Will the Majestic Princess’s unwanted ballast be a “drop in the
ocean”, given those surging case numbers? This seems a let-it-rip or, in this
case, let-it-ripple policy.
The cheapest fare paid by the 3300 passengers on the Princess Pandemic was
about $150 per day, which partly explains why cruising is so popular. According
to the investigative website Cruise Market Watch, this ship carried 88,800
passengers in 2021, earning $US130 million-plus ($194 million).
That money goes back to the US-based parent company, Carnival Corporation &
plc, which consists of two separate companies registered in the tax haven of
Panama and in the UK. This means that while Australia receives no tax revenue
from Carnival, the country’s taxpayers will cover the health costs of the
latest debacle.
Footage of passengers disembarking showed many of them to be elderly, the group
with the highest risk of death or disability from COVID-19. This problem is not
going to disappear but will be an ongoing, costly issue for the Australian
health system."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
