The inquiry into the management of the ship’s arrival in Sydney in March has revealed a detailed timeline of who knew what and when

A special commission of inquiry has held five days of hearings into the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which has so far has been linked to 21 deaths and almost 700 cases of Covid-19 across Australia.

The inquiry, overseen by Bret Walker SC, had two days of hearings on 22 and 23 April, and then three days of hearings this week.

As the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess continues, a Sunshine Coast couple describe their final day aboard.

A NSW Health official breaks down in tears while apologising for the government department's failures in dealing with the Ruby Princess coronavirus outbreak, an inquiry hears.

Scores of crew members on the Ruby Princess celebrated with a party on the day it docked in Sydney unaware of the public health disaster that was about to happen.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Dr Kerry Chant provided an updated on coronavirus for May 6. NSW has confirmed nine new cases of COVID-19 overnight.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the questioning of a NSW Health worker who broke down in tears at the Ruby Princess inquiry was "out of line" and she was only doing her best.

Jim Hamilton from Lake Macquarie was a passenger aboard the Ruby Princess, now the subject of a special commission of inquiry led by Brett Walker SC. A NSW Health epidemiologist Kelly-Anne Ressler agreed it was unsatisfactory that more people on the ship were tested for influenza than for COVID-19.

Jim Hamilton, 68, a passenger on Ruby Princess, says a stint in intensive care with COVID-19 has left him musing about "the meaning of life and everything".

Epidemiologist Kelly-Anne Ressler Ressler says her colleagues at NSW Health "were working very hard" and that if they could have their time over to deal with the Ruby Princess's arrival again "it would be very different" during evidence at the special commission of inquiry on May 6, 2020.

Tasmania records six new cases of coronavirus, with four of those infected being passengers who returned to the state after disembarking the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

No new cases are identified on the day Tasmania records its second coronavirus death, an elderly man in southern Tasmania who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship.

The Ruby Princess leaves Australian waters today over a month after docking in Sydney. About one in 10 cases of coronavirus in Australia is linked to the cruise ship.

Australia's Chief Medical Officer says a coronavirus cluster in Tasmania's north-west was likely sparked by a passenger from the Ruby Princess cruise ship, as the state marks 24 hours without a new case being found.

An investigation into a coronavirus cluster in north-west Tasmania finds some staff worked in local hospitals for several days while experiencing symptoms, but the Premier stresses no-one is to blame.

The International Transport Workers Federation says contacts on the ship told them there are six people in isolation on board due to COVID-19.

Sydney silk Bret Walker SC, who is leading the special commission of inquiry into the Ruby Princess, says he did not take Scott Morrison's criticisms of his "aggressive" questioning of a teary witness as an attempt to interfere with the probe's independence.

NSW Health assessment the cruise ship was ‘low risk’ introduced ‘an unfortunate element’ into his decision-making

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A New South Wales harbour master has told an inquiry he “did not understand” an email that told him to treat the Ruby Princess “as if it has a positive Covid-19 result” when it came into Sydney Harbour on 18 and 19 March.

Cameron Butchart, who was the duty harbour master on 18 March, said NSW Health’s assessment that the ship was “low risk” introduced “an unfortunate element” into his decision-making.

The senior doctor on board the Ruby Princess tells an inquiry she is surprised passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney last month despite some displaying COVID-19 symptoms.

The man, who died in Royal Perth Hospital, was one of the nearly 3,000 passengers who disembarked the ship in Sydney on March 19.

Julie Lamrock contracted coronavirus after she drove a passenger named Helen from Circular Quay to Campbelltown, in Sydney's western suburbs, on March 19.

Kiri-Lee Ryder, 44, attended a medical appointment onboard the cruise just hours before she disembarked in Sydney on March 19.

ABF Commissioner Michael Outram said all foreign cruise ships who asked for permission to stay in local waters had their requests knocked back on Saturday.

Doctors put Kiri-Lee Ryder, 41, in an induced coma on March 29 when she fell ill after returning to Perth from a holiday.

A 74-year-old woman in Newcastle and a 79-year-old man on the Northern Beaches died. Both people had been passengers on the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise.

It is unlikely any criminal charges will ever be laid over the Ruby Princess debacle and it is 'odd' New South Police are even investigating it, according to a  legal expert.

Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy joked 'you're very lucky Ruby Princess unloaded in Sydney rather than in New Zealand' and nervously laughed during a briefing to Kiwi politicians.

A crew member serving food to hundreds of passengers may have been responsible for the coronavirus outbreak on board the Ruby Princess cruise ship.  

Queenslander Karla Lake contracted the deadly virus while celebrating her 75th birthday with her husband Graeme on the virus-stricken Ruby Cruise cruise ship before it docked in Sydney.

Australia's coronavirus death toll has risen to 50 after a Ruby Princess passenger died in Adelaide.

The 74-year-old man succumbed to the infection in the Royal Adelaide Hospital overnight, SA Health confirmed on Sunday.