German cruise ship passengers flown home as virus spreads on board

By Subel Bhandari, dpa

An unknown number of passengers of a virus-struck German cruise ship stuck off the western coast of Australia were flown home on Sunday as more coronavirus cases were confirmed on board.

The first of four chartered Condor Airlines flights departed late on Sunday night from Perth Airport, a source told dpa, with three more scheduled to take off within hours.

The planes will refuel in Phuket, Thailand, before continuing to Frankfurt.

The Artania cruise liner has been moored in Fremantle, south of Perth, in Western Australia, since Thursday with more than 230 crew members and 832 passengers – including 763 Germans – on board.

An unknown number of passengers were flown home on Sunday, with the number expected to be announced by Western Australia authorities on Monday.

Meanwhile, 29 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed on board, the Western Australia regional government said in a statement.

Previously, nine passengers with coronavirus were evacuated for treatment at hospitals in Perth. All remain in a critical condition and three are being treated in intensive care units.

At least 40 passengers and crew are known to have contracted the virus to date. None of them will be allowed to fly.

Patients will likely be taken to private hospitals in Perth for treatment, but remain the responsibility of the federal government, Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan told reporters on Sunday.

“Managing cruise ships has been extremely difficult, in fact, it’s been a nightmare,” he said. “It’s a diabolical situation dealing with these cruise ships.”

The evacuation has been organized by the cruise company Phoenix Reisen, who confirmed that one plane had already left.

Sources have told dpa that some crew members were also being evacuated on the chartered flights, while most would stay on board Artania, which is expected to leave Fremantle on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday the passengers and crew would be “flying home courtesy of the German government.”

“It is important that Australia does the right thing about those who have fallen into our care,” he told reporters in Canberra.

McGowan on Thursday had asked the ship to leave immediately and urged the Australian Navy to help the vessel to leave country’s waters.

“Cruise ships continue to be the Achilles heel when it comes to managing this situation,” McGowan said on Saturday.

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