After 10 months of the COVID-19 crisis and plenty of uncertainty over the management of maritime workers and seafarers, medical care, seafarer crew changes and access to medical care, real consultation started yesterday. NSW public health officials, other transport and maritime officials and industry representatives met to tackle some of these tricky public issues confronting the maritime industry in the COVID pandemic.
The key item for discussion was the new NSW Public Health (COVID-19 Maritime Quarantine) Order (No 4) 2020. Next up was a discussion involving human biosecurity officers, public health officers and the industry about the public health response to cases onboard a vessel.
The meeting concluded with operational feedback from industry stakeholders in response to the pandemic and in implementing the NSW Public Health (COVID-19 Maritime Quarantine) Order (No 4) 2020.
There is still a long way to go to streamline the processes and protocols to properly support seafarers throughout this continuing pandemic, however, this meeting was an important step in the right direction.
