A group of passengers on board the Pacific Dawn cruise ship added a new twist to a familiar slogan when they arrived in Sydney this morning: Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oink Oink Oink.The ship was hit by the swine flu scare and was forced to cut short a trip to the Barrier Reef when three crew tested positive for the virus.But spirits remained high as the ship pulled into Darling Harbour this morning, with passengers at the bow of the ship waving to the waiting media when the ship docked at 8am.VIDEO: NSW Health's latest video update on the swine flu situationAnd they had good cause to be in high spirits. This morning NSW Health authorities gave the ship the all-clear, and its passengers, numbering more than 2000, will be allowed to disembark sometime after 10.30am.Among the passengers are the two daughters of Cordeaux Heights woman Mardella Bassett , who is due to meet the ship in Sydney this morning.Laila, 25, and Tian, 22, have been monitored by health authorities since three crew were found to be carrying the swine flu virus.
Uncertain homecoming for sisters aboard Pacific DawnNSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said swabs taken from passengers who travelled on the Pacific Dawn cruise ship between Brisbane and Sydney all returned negative results last night.Early this morning, Queensland Health confirmed that the last remaining swab to be tested in Brisbane also tested negative."This is great news for everyone on board the Pacific Dawn, their families, their friends, the NSW Health nursing team that's worked so hard to screen all the passengers and of course, our community," Dr Chant said."No evidence of any additional cases of human swine influenza has been found on board the Pacific Dawn and most importantly, there has been no person-to-person transmission on board the ship."These results give Carnival Australia the all-clear to disembark the Pacific Dawn, as normal. Passengers and crew will be able to leave the ship and return home or continue their onward travel without delay or restriction." Dr Chant said that while human swine influenza had now been ruled out, a small number of people on board the ship had experienced mild respiratory infections which in some cases were associated with seasonal influenza.
