Ruby Princess police investigation

[Ondine]

Even if it was a crew member who took the virus onto the ship:

 

The question and inquiry is into WHY were the passengers let off the ship before tests came back?

 

2 days prior Golden Princess was held up all day in Melbourne waiting for clearance so why not Ruby?

[christodan]

2 minutes ago, Ondine said:

Even if it was a crew member who took the virus onto the ship:

 

The question and inquiry is into WHY were the passengers let off the ship before tests came back?

 

2 days prior Golden Princess was held up all day in Melbourne waiting for clearance so why not Ruby?

 

Because the head of the health department deemed it to be low risk. OR there's the rumour that two passengers were in laws of a federal politician who didn't want to be quarantined on a ship for two weeks.

[OzKiwiJJ]

9 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

No. I wouldn't call it corruption. If the Police can point the finger at an employee of Princess, they may think it strengthens their case against the company.

 

I don't know when the last batch of new crew came on the ship. When they did, it could be any number of people from 10 to dozens. Were any of them cooks? Princess will have those records.

 

It's possible the Police have got their precious gems mixed up - mixing a Ruby with a Diamond.

 

Of course, it doesn't really matter who took the virus on board. The key question remains - disembarkation.

But then it comes down to where did the crew member get it from? It sounds like another deflection trick to me. As you say what counts is why the passengers were disembarked before those tests were done.

[christodan]

13 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I cannot see that it's logical that they would have (a) known about the suggestion of holding the ship in the harbour and (b) that they phoned someone in the middle of the night to intervene. This doesn't pass the 'pub test' for me.

 

 

 

But we were all aware of what happened with the Diamond Princess, so why wouldn't a passenger have a fear that they might be stuck on the ship for two weeks? I am sure if it was me, it would have gone through my head that it was a possibility.

[Pushka]

More info here about the 900 overseas passengers on Ruby. 
 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-13/coronavirus-concerns-for-international-ruby-princess-passengers/12143544

[christodan]

I think that a lot changed when the Ruby left on March 8 and when it came back. I remember everything was normal and my partner and I saw an opera at the Opera House on March 6. Incidentally,the theatre was packed with passengers,from I think it was one of Cunards ships.  There was standing room only demonstrating how normal things still were then. Then a week later my MIL called to say Tom Hanks was at the Opera House and he and his wife have COVID. I said oh they were there on the Saturday night, we were there on the Friday night. But when that happened it seemed that suddenly the whole mood changed and people felt like it was everywhere. So I can see how people on the ship were calling home (i.e. Australia) and finding everything had changed drastically and suddenly. And, some would be thinking is it on the ship? It was at the Opera House. People probably went on tours there the day before. As I said things changed drastically during the time the cruise left Sydney and came back.

[Aus Traveller]

8 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

A Channel 7 news site mentioned that there were 900 overseas passengers on the Ruby Princess. A Canadian couple have since reported that they were 'forgotten'. She says that while on board, they were "given a sheet that told them to go to a hotel until it was time to go to the airport for their flight". She also said that when they arrived home, Princess phoned them about COVID on board the ship, then they received an email with more information. For some reason, she feels Princess didn't keep them informed.

This Canadian couple have just been whinging (oops, I mean interviewed) on Channel 9 news.

[Aus Traveller]

The Channel 9 News had a report by a senior Policeman who said they believed the virus was taken onto the Ruby Princess by a crew member who worked in the galley that cooked for both passengers and crew. Uh?????? Passengers and crew have their meals in different dining rooms that are served by different kitchens. The crew kitchen and dining room are on a lower deck, nowhere near the passenger dining room.

 

I suspect that Princess won't try to refute this latest claim. 

[MicCanberra]

Maybe he worked two jobs?

[DiamondFour]

Its sheer lunacy to blame a crew member in the galley. It just does not make sense. The ship arrived here Septembet/October 2019 before the virus was even known about. The crew are likely to have been on since then. 

 

Chances are it was an international passenger arriving in Australia on March 8th to board the ship.

 

All this police investigation is doing is a corrupt cover up for multiple government departments that stuffed up and are trying to blame Princess and innocent crew members for their stuff up. This stinks of corruption to me.

[Aus ATC]

22 minutes ago, DiamondFour said:

All this police investigation is doing is a corrupt cover up for multiple government departments that stuffed up and are trying to blame Princess and innocent crew members for their stuff up. 

 

I would be interested in the evidence pointing to a crew member as the "patient zero" in this case.  A nice deflection that the media will (has) pick(ed) up on to lay further blame on the company. I presume they have not actually identified "the individual concerned".

[Pushka]

I didn’t realise the NW Tasmania hospital lockdown now in progress was from a Covid infection from Ruby until today. 

[DiamondFour]

20 minutes ago, Aus ATC said:

 

I would be interested in the evidence pointing to a crew member as the "patient zero" in this case.  A nice deflection that the media will (has) pick(ed) up on to lay further blame on the company. I presume they have not actually identified "the individual concerned".

When interviewed in the news the commissioner actually qualified it by stating that "he has no evidence" and it is just a theory they are working on.

 

Its easy for the police to defame, malign and slander a good company without true facts and put a gag order on the company preventing it from defending its good name.

[dizzy1948]

Might not be posting in the right spot - but all threads are getting mangled up.

All Vasco de Gama passengers that were isolated in WA are out of quarantine, and no cases reported on that ship, at this time. Looking good. Sadly, it won't be able to carry on with it's itinerary in Aus. 

Edited April 13, 2020 by dizzy1948

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Maybe he worked two jobs?

In two different galleys at once? Both jobs would be full time jobs. Three meals a day in both galleys.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Aus Traveller

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, DiamondFour said:

Its sheer lunacy to blame a crew member in the galley. It just does not make sense. The ship arrived here Septembet/October 2019 before the virus was even known about. The crew are likely to have been on since then. 

 

Chances are it was an international passenger arriving in Australia on March 8th to board the ship.

 

All this police investigation is doing is a corrupt cover up for multiple government departments that stuffed up and are trying to blame Princess and innocent crew members for their stuff up. This stinks of corruption to me.

I don't agree that the crew would have been on board since September/October. Every time the ship came into Sydney there would have been some 'joiners' and some 'leavers'. This could be a dozen, but would often be a few dozen.

 

Once again, I can't see that it is corruption. I see it as shifting the blame. I would like to see any evidence that any of the galley staff joined in Sydney on 8th March. Of course, this is really irrelevant: the key point is why they let the passengers disembark. We have heard that on the previous cruise, passengers were held on board until NSW Health cleared them. 

[Aus Traveller]

22 minutes ago, DiamondFour said:

When interviewed in the news the commissioner actually qualified it by stating that "he has no evidence" and it is just a theory they are working on.

 

Its easy for the police to defame, malign and slander a good company without true facts and put a gag order on the company preventing it from defending its good name.

OMG!!! The Police statement that a crew-member was responsible will stick in people's minds. They won't have heard, or will forget the "Has no evidence" bit.

 

I don't think the Police could or would put a 'gag order' on the company. However, I don't think Princess will bother to refute every story that comes out.

Edited April 13, 2020 by Aus Traveller

[DiamondFour]

1 minute ago, Aus Traveller said:

I don't agree that the crew would have been on board since September/October. Every time the ship came into Sydney there would have been some 'joiners' and some 'leavers'. This could be a dozen, but would often be a few dozen.

 

Once again, I can't see that it is corruption. I see it as shifting the blame. I would like to see any evidence that any of the galley staff joined in Sydney on 8th March. Of course, this is really irrelevant: the key point is why they let the passengers disembark. We have heard that on the previous cruise, passengers were held on board until NSW Health cleared them. 

While that is true at that point restrictions were in place for people coming from airports in china and other chinese places like Hong Kong.

 

The police admitted they have no evidence for this theory and I take that to mean that no significant crew change over was found from a suspect country.

 

Now instead of blaming the Captain and ships Doctor they have decided to blame a crew member who people wont care about.

 

Blame shifting is what I like to call corruption.

 

My honest thought is that as the sailing prior to 8th March has no confirmed chinaVirus cases that it must have been brought on from a passenger from UK/Europe or North America.

[DiamondFour]

3 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

OMG!!! The Police statement that a crew-member was responsible will stick in people's minds. They won't have heard, or will forget the "Has no evidence" bit.

 

I don't think the Police could or would put a 'gag order' on the company. However, I don't think Princess will bother to refute every story that comes out.

They have got a gag order on them. This has been confirmed by media who were interviewing the crew and why the P&O Australia CEO has not made any further videos to his response to the police ordering Pacific Explorer to leave Sydney. It was not long after that video message that they were slapped with a gag order.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, DiamondFour said:

Its sheer lunacy to blame a crew member in the galley. It just does not make sense. The ship arrived here Septembet/October 2019 before the virus was even known about. The crew are likely to have been on since then. 

 

Chances are it was an international passenger arriving in Australia on March 8th to board the ship.

 

All this police investigation is doing is a corrupt cover up for multiple government departments that stuffed up and are trying to blame Princess and innocent crew members for their stuff up. This stinks of corruption to me.

Staff come and go all the time, but agree, It was likely an international guest that brought it on board.

[MicCanberra]

21 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

In two different galleys at once? Both jobs would be full time jobs. Three meals a day in both galleys.

Perhaps his name was Deja vu, or more likely they worked in one for lunches and the other for dinners

[lyndarra]

There have been theories put forward re passengers or crew bringing the virus onboard but there is another possible carrier/s. The entertainers that come on board one port, do their gig, and leave at the next port. And they also do gigs on other ships. I'm not suggesting it was an entertainer but it's possibility I haven't heard anyone put forward or speculate on.

[MicCanberra]

What about goods, food etc that may have been brought on contaminated.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Something to think about ...

 

If all passengers had been kept onboard until the results of those initial tests had come through confirming that the virus was on the ship

AND

If then all passengers and crew had been tested for the virus so that those infected by it were hospitalized immediately until they were free of the virus

THEN

Would as many people have died?

[Pushka]

44 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Something to think about ...

 

If all passengers had been kept onboard until the results of those initial tests had come through confirming that the virus was on the ship

AND

If then all passengers and crew had been tested for the virus so that those infected by it were hospitalized immediately until they were free of the virus

THEN

Would as many people have died?

And that is the elephant in the room. Certainly the travellers to SA may have received extensive treatment in Sydney rather than flying to Adelaide, waiting for tests, admitted to hospital. Who knows the impact of that on their recovery or death.