Two crew members from Sofrana Surville hospitalised with Covid-19 in Queensland

October 23, 2020

The ship that’s now off Queensland is thought to be the source of NZ’s recent cases of community transmission.

Two crew members from the ship thought to be the source of New Zealand's recent cases of Covid-19 community transmission have been hospitalised with the coronavirus.

The pair, from the MV Sofrana Surville, were admitted to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital while the ship remains anchored off Queensland, a Queensland Health spokesperson said in a statement.

Another crew member has returned a weak positive, indicating a historical infection.

The third crew member's weak positive was discovered after all crew aboard the ship were tested following confirmation that a worker with Covid-19 was onboard the vessel while it was docked in New Zealand.

Queensland Health, Maritime Safety Queensland and the shipping agent are working together to support and monitor the health of the crew during this time, the spokesperson said. 

Whole genome sequencing from the confirmed cases is now underway to establish if the same strain of the virus on the ship is the source of the New Zealand port worker's infection.

Testing is expected to be completed next week. 

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