CHO says Queensland cruises still a long way down the track - Brisbane Times

She added that travelling on cruise ships was not safe during the pandemic.

"The problem with cruise ships is that they lead to transmission very, very readily," Dr Young said.

"We know that from the past, we always saw outbreaks of norovirus, we’ve seen outbreaks of flu, so it is not surprising that you would see outbreaks of COVID, so really, they are not safe."

Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Jones declined to comment.

Opposition tourism spokesman David Crisafulli said health and safety had to be the priority – and the starting point – of any discussion about recommencing cruising even in Queensland waters.

"With 200,000 Queenslanders out of work, the LNP backs companies who are trying to create secure jobs, but any plan must meet strict COVID guidelines," Mr Crisafulli said.

"The Palaszczuk Labor government needs to work with all industries to get Queensland working again."

But Mr Crisafulli emphasised health issues and a COVID-safe plan to prevent infection had to be approved before cruising could be considered for a return in Queensland waters.

Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd chief executive Roy Cummins said cruise lines agreed health safety must come first.

"What I can say is that we have seen the resumption of limited cruising in Europe and that does give us some insight into how cruising might resume safely in the future," Mr Cummins said.

He said the cruise lines might choose to run smaller cruise ships on the Queensland-only cruises.

"I think that would enable social distancing to take place while giving them some economic benefit, but that really is a question for the cruise lines themselves," he said.

Mr Cummins said cruise companies understood it was yet too early to begin cruises, but he said Queensland had good potential once transmission was no longer a problem.

"We have preliminary discussions with all of the players in the industry; the cruise lines, and the authorities," he said.

"There is a desire to resume cruising when it is safe to do so with Queensland as a centre for domestic cruising."

Mr Cummins said when health issues were under control, the new cruise ship terminal would allow Queensland some flexibility.

"That really does give us the opportunity to open up itineraries, particularly in Queensland and stretch up to Townsville, Cairns, Airlie Beach, the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef," he said.

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5icmlzYmFuZXRpbWVzLmNvbS5hdS9wb2xpdGljcy9xdWVlbnNsYW5kL2Noby1zYXlzLXF1ZWVuc2xhbmQtY3J1aXNlcy1zdGlsbC1hLWxvbmctd2F5LWRvd24tdGhlLXRyYWNrLTIwMjAwOTI0LXA1NXl5ZS5odG1s0gGFAWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmJyaXNiYW5ldGltZXMuY29tLmF1L3BvbGl0aWNzL3F1ZWVuc2xhbmQvY2hvLXNheXMtcXVlZW5zbGFuZC1jcnVpc2VzLXN0aWxsLWEtbG9uZy13YXktZG93bi10aGUtdHJhY2stMjAyMDA5MjQtcDU1eXllLmh0bWw?oc=5

2020-09-24 09:47:00Z
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