The departure date for the Ruby Princess from Port Kembla is up in the air as testing of all crew members on board is carried out.
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NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the safety of the crew was "paramount" and that he would be working with NSW Health, Border Force and Carnival Cruises to see if the proposed departure date of Sunday was still a realistic target.
"If the health advice is, I need to wait another couple of days, then no doubt Australian Border Force and NSW Police will honour that," Mr Fuller said on Friday.
"We will continue to work with the ship and Carnival to make sure that anyone who can come off and be repatriated can be."
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among the more than 1000 crew members is now 153, some who remain affected, and some who have already recovered.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said all crew members who had not been tested already, would be within 48 hours.
"We do two types of testing," she said. "One type tests for the presence of the virus, but we're also testing for antibodies.
"This reflects crew members who have had the infection in the past and have got an antibody response.
"This will help us establish who is immune, and non-immune, on the ship and who is infected currently.
"We need to make sure that the core group of people are well who need to operate the boat, and preferably they're all immune so therefore not at risk of coming down with the illness should there be any residual disease transmission on the ship."
South Coast Labor Union secretary Arthur Rorris has called for an urgent meeting between the crew, International Transport Workers' Federation, all forms of government and Carnival Cruises as soon as testing is completed.
"These groups should all be in agreement with what happens next," he said.
"That in our view should be repatriation for those able to do so; a pathway for treatment and isolation for the ones who do not want sail but do want to return home likely through chartered flights, and those who can safely sail."
Mr Rorris said the health and safety of the crew members needed to be the priority rather than meeting a Sunday departure. Otherwise unions fear it could become "bloody Sunday" if crew members sails and die.
Meanwhile, the criminal investigation continues into the disembarking of the ship, however all necessary inquiries have been conducted on-board and there are no investigative issues that would impede the vessel's departure.
More than 5600 people will be sent online questionnaires regarding the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship as part of what may be one of NSW Police's biggest ever investigations.
The 2647 passengers who disembarked the Ruby Princess in Sydney on March 19, as well as the 2995 passengers on the preceding voyage which docked on March 8, will next week receive the questionnaire on what they saw and heard during the cruises.
Police will then conduct interviews with those who give noteworthy responses.
Passengers who arrived home from the second Ruby Princess voyage to New Zealand were permitted to disembark without adequate health checks. The ship is connected to 19 COVID-19 deaths to date.
Authorities handling the probe are investigating if criminal negligence took place by operator Princess Cruises or Ruby Princess crew members in the March 19 disembarkation of the ship, as well as any failures of NSW or Commonwealth departments.
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