A Tasmanian man in his 80s, who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess has died today from coronavirus.

Over the weekend, another passenger, an 87-year-old woman who had been infected on the ship also died.

The total number of passengers who have died after disembarking from the ship now stands at 14.

A number of ships have also departed Australian waters after NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller ordered the vessels to depart. Spectrum of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Celebrity Solstice all refuelled, stocked up and left Sydney Harbour.

Australian Boarder Force Commissioner Michael Outram said 13 of the 20 cruise ships in Australian ports and seas have now left, or are in the process of leaving.

Another four ships will depart on Thursday. There are about 13,500 crew members on these ships.

The Ruby Princess docking on March 19 has been mired in controversy since 2,650 passengers were allowed to disembark with no health checks, despite the ship alerting them to 13 sick passengers on board.

The cruise ship followed strict protocols. NSW Health has since admitted it should have stopped the disembarkation, and a blame game between Health Officials and Fedmeral Border Protection officers ensued.

“We are profoundly sorry to learn that a guest who disembarked from Ruby Princess last week has passed away. Our thoughts are with the guest’s family at this difficult time. This sad development underlines the challenges we are all facing as a community in the battle against the impact of COVID-19,” says Princess Cruises.

Last week, NSW Health also said there are 79 cases in NSW linked to Ovation of the Seas which docked in Sydney on March 18, and 30 cases diagnosed in NSW who were on-board the cruise Voyager of the Seas which disembarked on 18 March. And four from Celebrity Solstice.