Member joins search for virus treatment

Member joins search for virus treatment Evans Head volunteer ‘dodges a bullet’ on ill-fated Ruby Princess.

AMarine Rescue NSW volunteer who contracted coronavirus on the notorious Ruby Princess cruise ship is now part of the hunt for a treatment for the illness that has claimed more than 400,000 lives around the world.

MR Evans Head member Jim Roberts says he dodged a bullet, only contracting a mild case of the virus on the ill-fated liner, reported to be linked to 21 deaths and hundreds of infections.

“It’s so terribly sad that all those people have passed away and got so terribly ill,” Jim said.

“I’m pretty healthy. I wasn’t very sick. The worse symptoms I had were hot, heavy, sore eyes and a mild temperature but I had none of the other symptoms - no cough, no sore throat.”

Part of a fortunate and valuable cohort of patients who have recovered from the virus, Jim is now donating plasma, from which antibodies are being extracted, as part of a joint project by Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and CSL to develop a product with the potential to treat critically ill patients with COVID-19. Donors who have recovered from the virus have a high level of antibodies - proteins that fight COVID-19 - in their plasma.

“They’re hoping to get as many people as possible who have been positive and recovered to donate plasma so they can extract the antibodies,” Jim said. “You can always live in hope that you’re contributing (to an effective treatment).”

Jim said he and his wife Sandra had enjoyed their cruise to New Zealand but in retrospect, he believed the ship should not have been allowed to sail.

“In hindsight, everybody was in a position to stop it going - the Ruby Princess, Border Force, NSW Health, the Port Authority - but no one did.” Jim said the ship’s departure had been delayed for more than four hours to disembark ill people from the previous cruise and satisfy NSW Health as to the level of cleaning on board.

“There were 2,700 passengers milling around on the concourse for a couple of hours but the issue is not whether someone brought it on to the ship but that there was a reservoir of the virus on the ship with the crew,” he said.

While rumours had been swirling that passengers had fallen ill and been confined to their cabins, Jim said crew members had assured people who asked that everything was safe.

“Cruises are what they are. You’re in close proximity to everyone. As my doctor said, it was a petri dish for COVID,” Jim said.

“Nobody on the ship came forward and said there were people who were ill and there was a possibility some might have COVID. I guess they didn’t want to create panic but perhaps they should have gone straight back to Sydney.”

After stopping in Wellington - where the couple later learned via media reports that a number of passengers had been tested for the virus - the Commodore announced the Princess would skip its last three stops and return early to Sydney.

The liner docked in the early hours of Thursday, March 19 and passengers were allowed to disembark, sparking a blame game over the subsequent spread of the virus in the community.

Jim and Sandra flew home to the North Coast the same night.

“By the time we got back, I had mild symptoms and organised a swab test on Friday morning,” he said.

“My doctor called me about 8.15 on Sunday evening to say I was positive and my wife was negative,” Jim said. The couple was required to isolate for a fortnight.

MR Evans Head member Jim Roberts at the Casino Rural Fire Service Headquarters during the summer bushfire crisis, before he sailed into his own health emergency in March.

The ill-fated Ruby Princess turned out to be “a petri dish for COVID”.

Jim has put his time to good use, studying for his radio operator qualification via Zoom training courses run by MRNSW Regional Training Manager Stuart Massey.

“I’ve just enrolled in the Training and Assesment short course. My goal is to get to Watch Officer status,” he said.

Describing MR Evans Head as “a big extended family”, Jim said he had asked the unit’s Membership Officer to inform his fellow volunteers of his positive result as he believed they had a right to know.

Sunrise over the Ruby Princess’ return to Sydney.

“We have a wonderful little unit. The level of expertise and skills that people have and the freedom with which they pass that information on is outstanding,” he said.