As the Special Commission of Inquiry1 into the Ruby
Princess outbreak drew to a close on the 17th July 2020,
Counsel Assisting Richard Beasley SC, provided an alternative
course of action that could have prevented one of the State's
worst health mistakes.
Mr Beasley in his closing submissions suggested that NSW Health
officials should have prioritised the rapid testing of the initial
swabs when the ship docked in Sydney, then boarded the ship to take
further tests and ensuring all passengers were confined to their
cabins until those test results were returned. Those who returned a
positive test should then have been securely transferred to
quarantine, limiting the spread of COVID-19.
