Uncertain homecoming for sisters aboard Pacific Dawn

By Angela Thompson
Updated November 5 2012 - 8:40pm, first published May 31 2009 - 11:21am
Tian and Laila Bassett are due to dock in Sydney today.
Tian and Laila Bassett are due to dock in Sydney today.

An uncertain reunion awaits a Cordeaux Heights mum whose two daughters will dock in Sydney with the cruise ship Pacific Dawn today.Mardella Bassett is supposed to collect daughters Laila, 25, and Tian, 22, from the ship, which has been monitored by health authorities since three crew were found to be carrying the swine flu virus.

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  • What should I do if I think I have swine flu?Ms Bassett said she was told by P&O Cruises last week that passengers would normally disembark at 9am after docking at 7am. She is waiting to see if they will disembark as scheduled and if they will later be quarantined in their Sutherland homes."If they're sent home and quarantined for a week I'll have to go shopping for them," Ms Bassett said."They thought they were going to be away for two weeks and have no perishables, no fruit."Ms Bassett has been in regular telephone and text message contact with her daughters since they departed. She said they remained frustrated at the lack of information being passed on to passengers."I think it's really bad that they aren't being informed about what's going on," Ms Bassett said."I'm giving them more information than what they're receiving and it's very frustrating for them."Another two swine flu cases were confirmed across the South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service over the weekend, bringing the total to 13. But there were no further cases reported on the South Coast.
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