The ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship is likely the "ground zero" of a deadly coronavirus outbreak in northwest Tasmania, an investigation has revealed.
Two-thirds of the island's 219 cases are linked to the virus cluster that forced the closure of Burnie's hospitals this month after dozens of workers and patients tested positive.
Eleven of the state's 12 virus deaths have been in the region, the latest an 86-year-old woman who died yesterday.
Premier Peter Gutwein released findings of the state government's interim report into the cluster this morning.
"What the report confirms is that most likely that 'ground zero' for the outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital was the Ruby Princess," he said.
The Premier said that while the root cause was the Ruby Princess, it is still not known how the virus spread throughout the north-west, infecting 146 people.
"There are two points that I want to make: no passenger is to blame and no healthcare worker is to blame," he said.
"In terms of how the infection, this highly infectious disease, has then been spread is to be frank something that we will never know."
Tasmania's first three fatalities, including two people at the North West Regional Hospital, had been passengers aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship, who were permitted to disembark in Sydney before test results were returned.
More than 4000 healthcare staff, patients and their families were forced into quarantine to mitigate the outbreak, which also prompted tough social restrictions in the region.
Mr Gutwein has pledged an independent review of the cluster at a later date.
The outbreak appears to have been brought under control, with just one new case reported overnight – a female healthcare worker from the region.
With AAP.
Source: https://ift.tt/3d18uRr
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