Passengers arriving into Sydney on some cruise ships will be assessed by health experts for coronavirus to prevent the spread of the disease.
NSW Health on Sunday said a risk assessment will be completed before each ship's arrival into the harbour city and then a decision will be made on whether to disembark passengers from the ship.
The health authority insists it is a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Passengers disembark from a cruise ship docked in Sydney Harbour. Source: SBS
Passengers arriving in Sydney on a cruise ship from New Zealand on Sunday will be assessed as a "safeguard," the health authority said in a statement.
"No outbreak of COVID-19 has been identified by doctors on board the vessel that set sail from Auckland and travelled around New Zealand to Australia however, as a safeguard, any unwell passengers will be assessed by health teams here," NSW Health said.
The testing process will be similar to the assessments being done for passengers arriving at Sydney airport.
NSW Health said thousands of passengers, including the elderly, are often on cruise ships and they often require medical management for unrelated infectious diseases while on the cruise or when they disembark.
It comes after one person onboard the Norwegian Jewel was on Friday tested and cleared of the virus during a precautionary assessment.
The ship, which arrived in Sydney on Friday and was scheduled to depart on Saturday for a 14-day cruise of Australia and New Zealand, was never locked down.
The ship's owner slammed "false and inflammatory" media reports which suggested someone on board could have contracted the disease.
