Almost 50 passengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship that docked in Sydney last week have been confirmed to have the coronavirus.
NSW Health said on Monday that 48 people who had been on board the liner had tested positive for COVID-19.
The bulk of them were diagnosed in NSW but some had been diagnosed interstate.
The growing number of cases from the Ruby Princess came as Western Australian premier Mark McGowan revealed a cruise ship carrying sick passengers has asked for permission to dock in Fremantle within hours.
The Magnifica has more than 1700 passengers on board, more than 250 of whom have reported respiratory illnesses. Mr McGowan said the passengers were from Germany, France and Italy.
“I have contacted the PM and have spoken to the Home Affairs Minister, Peter Dutton, to explain my priority is to protect West Australians,” he said.
“I will not allow what happened in Sydney to happen here. We will not allow passengers or crew to wander the streets.”
He said the WA government was working through options for the ship with the Commonwealth and the Australian Defence Force.
WA recorded 20 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking its total to 140. Six of the new confirmed cases are former Ruby Princess passengers.
Mr McGowan had earlier lashed the NSW government for allowing passengers from the liner to leave before all coronavirus test results were in.
“NSW had people coming off ships yesterday and that may have changed matters. We managed the cruise ship very, very well yesterday – so quite different to what happened in NSW,” he said.
A NSW Health spokesman said earlier that, from midnight on Sunday, all cruise ships would be held in port until any patients with respiratory issues had been tested for COVID-19.
“NSW Health will go even further beyond the national protocol and its current own state protocols,” the statement said on Sunday.
The Ruby Princess had 1148 crew and 2647 passengers on board when it travelled to New Zealand before returning to Sydney on Thursday.
All cases from the cruise ship are in isolation at home or in hospital and all passengers and crew have been notified and asked to self-isolate for 14 days as investigations continue.
-with AAP
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