A missed opportunity ?

[rogespeed]

Just wondering as for some reason many crew and passengers of the plague cruise ships having arrived here desire to remain in Australia ( wonder why ?) , surely after clearing individuals of coronavirus and any other pathogens they could be offered an extended vacation at our many I presume empty quality holidays resorts , at their expense.

Sort of cut price vacation , not the usual all-singing-all-dancing professional entertainment , but much better than many alternative destinies.

IF they got bored they could elect to check out and take their chances and return to their country of origin, but I suspect they be a creative bunch and good time had for all  

But in the mean time their patronage would use expensive to maintain mostly vacant resources and create a meaningful regional cashflow and more employment

Am thinking island resorts - just in case of a viral outbreak , peace of mind. 

[eol-products]

Cost would not be cheap. A cheap hotel with meals would be $150 day.

[springyzone]

Obviously if someone on the shiips is ill, they may need to come off for treatment but I tend to look at it this way-if the crew is well and they are not Australian citizens, then by rights, the ship should return to its home port.

Those ships are not registered in Australia. They don't pay taxes here, their crews are very rarely Australian, the companies involved  that run these ships are not Australian.

They need to return to base and let the country collecting the taxes etc deal with repatriation of crew.

PS I doubt many of the crew could afford the likely vacation costs as they are not always highly paid.

[davidc4430]

first of all, this idea of turning hotels or resorts into C19 refugee camps.

do the staff get a choice to become sudo health professionals?

second, if 'they get bored and ceck out' and do have the virus but have not been tested positive, how exactly do they 'return to their country of origin' when over seas travel is pretty much non existent?

i think the cruise ship situation has been misshandled big time

because NSW screwed up big time now no one wants to sort it out.

had they built some (or created) semi-perminant hospital facility (likes being done in central park USA, 

the ships could have been brought in one by one and everyone removed to a safe place to be tested and kept for the 14 days.

or what happened to christmas island or the other places we saw being used in the first wave of incomming people?

can these people from cruise ships not go there?

[bright.ton42]

The unpalatable fact is that no-one wants the occupants of the cruise ships, not just Australia.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/florida-governor-ron-desantis-cruise-ship-coronavirus-...

The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has said passengers on a coronavirus-stricken cruise trip cannot be “dumped” in his state, casting further doubt over where two vessels carrying hundreds of people will be allowed to dock.

'Very scary': pleas for safe harbour from stranded cruise ship near Panama

Read more

Four people have died and dozens of people are sick with flu-like symptoms on the Zaandam cruise ship, which is currently traveling towards Florida after passing through the Panama canal with its sister ship – the Rotterdam – where asymptomatic passengers have been moved.

Some sort of humane (and economic)  solution will have to be found eventually. 

[davidc4430]

i cant talk for other countries

but i can say i'm very dissapointed in our countries reaction to those on board the ships here.

we have heard the PM use the term 'un australian' lately

well how UN AUSTRALIAN is turning your back on sick people on your doorstep?

are we not taught to give aid to anyone we meet who needs help?

if we witmess an accident stop and help (call police/ambulance)

so can i not bother stopping if i see a wrecked car on the side of the road?

can i shut my front door if someone comes knocking after being attacked?

yell, 'on yer way, sling ya hook, ya get no help here!'

[myoclon1cjerk]

"well how UN AUSTRALIAN is turning your back on sick people on your doorstep?"

No,that's very Australian. Remember the repeal of the Medevac laws?

[davidc4430]

---

@myoclon1cjerk wrote:
"well how UN AUSTRALIAN is turning your back on sick people on your doorstep?"

No,that's very Australian. Remember the repeal of the Medevac laws?

---

you wont get an argument from me there

[springyzone]

---

@davidc4430 wrote:

i cant talk for other countries

but i can say i'm very dissapointed in our countries reaction to those on board the ships here.

we have heard the PM use the term 'un australian' lately

well how UN AUSTRALIAN is turning your back on sick people on your doorstep?

are we not taught to give aid to anyone we meet who needs help?

if we witmess an accident stop and help (call police/ambulance)

so can i not bother stopping if i see a wrecked car on the side of the road?

can i shut my front door if someone comes knocking after being attacked?

yell, 'on yer way, sling ya hook, ya get no help here!'

---

We're not necessarily talking about turning our back on sick people. My understanding is those who are sick have, for the most part, been taken off the ships, or at least from the ship I saw on the news.

The majority of people left on the ships are mostly crew or in some cases a few passengers who may develop the virus but who are currently okay. On the news report I saw, medical staff were going onboard to monitor them.

Bottom line is we don't owe them free entry into the country. Something like 10% of our cases here in Australia a couple of days back could all be traced to the Ruby Princess. Those passengers should never have been let loose.

If they are to come off on our soil, they need to be quarantined somewhere. Christmas island was a good choice.

I wouldn't suggest sending away sick people without giving any help, but if the crew left on a ship seems well, I can't see any problem in refuelling the ship and asking it to return to its country of registration for the interim. I know some cruise lines have said they plan to restart in a month but I think that's a pipe dream myself.