A cruise ship that docked in Adelaide this week has garnered national headlines due to a simultaneous outbreak of COVID-19 and gastroenteritis.
Despite the dual illnesses, health authorities declared the outbreak over when the cruise liner docked, while only a handful of the passengers, on a ship that can hold 4,000 passengers became ill.
As Australia approaches the summer holiday period, the fate of the Grand Princess has brought holiday illness into the spotlight.
Epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett says there are many steps holiday-goers can take to minimise the risk of illness during their time off.
What can you do to mitigate personal risk?
Chair in epidemiology at Deakin University Professor Catherine Bennett, says cruising is like any other form of holiday, and people should think about the specific risks and what they could do to stay well.
She said there were steps people could take to reduce their risk of contracting infections while on board cruise ships.
“Keeping distance where you can, staying outdoors on the ship as often as you can rather than being in shared indoor settings, avoiding crowded areas within indoors on ships,” she said.
Professor Bennett said it was important that people did not ignore symptoms and were responsible for their individual behaviour to moderate risks to others.
“If they do have symptoms … go and see the ship’s doctor, they have guidance in place about who might need to quarantine,” she said.
“I do think cruise ships are safer now than they were before the pandemic, and I hope the same is true for other dense population holiday areas.”
Government says cruise ships pose higher risk of illness
The Department of Health described cruise ships as a higher risk setting for communicable diseases such as gastroenteritis and respiratory infections, including influenza and COVID-19.
In a statement from its Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), the department said these viral infections could be serious, particularly for people who were at higher risk of severe illness.
“The risk is higher on-board cruise ships than in the general community due to the high numbers of people mixing in relatively closed spaces, and the typically longer duration of cruises compared to other transport,” the statement said.
However, Professor Bennett said risks were not confined to cruise ships, but can affect settings where people mingle in close quarters.
“Whether that’s prisons, boarding schools, aged care, for example, they’re all places where if there is an outbreak it is of concern, so we tend to document it more than we would in, say, a hotel or resort,” she said.
“Ships [are another] key one where we have, in the past, also had foodborne disease or other person-to-person outbreaks being reported, even before the pandemic.”
She said that the COVID-19 pandemic had, however, brought some positive changes to cruise ship health protocols, including better ventilation.
“I think ships are now quite prepared for this, and hopefully that means that outbreaks that were occurring before this pandemic are also managed in better ways so that fewer passengers are impacted,” she said.
Industry insist passenger wellbeing is a top priority
Princess Cruises’ website states that the safety of passengers is the company’s top priority.
“All of our onboard medical facilities meet or exceed the standards established by the American College of Emergency Physicians,” it read.
“Our onboard medical facilities are staffed by full-time registered doctors and nurses.”
“In addition to twice-daily office hours, they are available 24 hours a day in the event of an emergency.”
Health authorities say a dual outbreak of COVID-19 and gastroenteritis onboard a cruise liner is now over after it docked in Adelaide with only a handful of sick passengers.
Bridget Hancock has worked as a performer on cruise ships for almost seven years and said cruise ships had serious health protocols in place.
She said during outbreaks of illness, all staff including performers were required to help with sanitisation and cleaning roles.
“[Outbreaks] are about as common as they are everywhere in the world on land, it’s just that they tend to get reported more on ships,” she said.
“Honestly, it’s one of the most hygienic places in the world.”