DEADLY TRIP OF A
LIFETIME – SBS(7966)
PTT |
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MUSIC |
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JEFF GREEN
(10.00): Antarctica is,
is like the jewel in the crown really.
It’s another world. Once you’ve done
Antarctica, unfortunately everything else seems a little bit dull. |
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MUSIC |
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JEFF (3J /
13.39): My
wife was against me going. And I said
to her, well, I'll probably live to tell the tale. And it turns out I did. And it's quite a tale. |
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MUSIC |
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It’s the tale of more than 200 people who embarked
on an Antarctic cruise during a pandemic. |
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MUSIC SHIFT FROM
TINGLING TO ALARMING (and into PTT proper) |
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At a cost of around $20,000, Australian company
Aurora Expeditions was offering passengers a taste of adventure – but for some,
it would end in tragedy. |
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DR USME (1U /
36.41): March 23,
three patients with fever. March 24, five patients with fever. |
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More than half of them got COVID-19. |
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DR KARINA
RANDO (4U / 2.06): We said, we
have to do something. These people cannot stay in that boat for longer. |
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For one person, the trip would be fatal. |
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GRAHAM (2G / 35.50ish): So they got a wheelchair and popped her in the
wheelchair. And that's the last I saw of her. |
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TITLE: DEADLY TRIP OF A LIFETIME by Amos Roberts, Agnes Teek, Simon Phegan &
Guillermo Garat PART 1 A HOLIDAY GONE WRONG |
(1)
SETTING OFF ON THE HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME |
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MUSIC |
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Melbourne’s second-wave lockdown prevents me from
traveling overseas for Dateline. |
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AMOS: No, you can’t
take my phone. Alright, take my phone,
take my phone [laughing] |
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Cooped up at home instead, I’ve been puzzling over
the saga of the ship named after Australian mountaineer, Greg Mortimer… |
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AMOS (00.06): Buenas dias, Dr Rando. KARINA RANDO: Buenas dias, hello, how are you? |
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The Greg Mortimer was like a microcosm of the
pandemic, where everyone experiences the same events differently. |
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PEOPLE ON
GLACIER (JF4 / 00.11): Hi. We’re having
a wonderful day out in um… the Antarctica. |
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For some, the virus
threatened their vacation, for others their livelihood, or even their life. |
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MUSIC |
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Our story begins on
the 15th of March in Ushuaia on the southern tip of Latin America
– 4 days after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic. |
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MUSIC |
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The plan was to set off that afternoon, crossing the
Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula, then to South Georgia, the
Falklands, and back to Argentina. |
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DR USME (1U / 11.55): For me was a completely
surprise in the moment that the new group of passengers came on board. |
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MUSIC |
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DR USME (1C / 2.54): My name is Mauricio Usme. I'm the emergency medical doctor in Medellín Colombia.
And also, I was the medical officer on board of the Greg Mortimer ship. |
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DR USME (1C / 10.56): March 11 /// the
World Health Organization gave the alert about the pandemic condition
regarding the coronavirus. Uh, that's mean for us that we are on the risk
with the new embarkation. (14.59) The possible. The
possible, uh, the, the new passengers, maybe someone is sick. And these
people /// will bring the virus on board for us. |
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ANGELA (1CH / 7.15:) We went ahead on a cruise that should have
never been started because all was already on fire. (7.24) |
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MUSIC |
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Angela Gavilan is
also Colombian, but lives in Chile. She’s worked on
cruise ships for more than 14 years as a maid. |
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MUSIC |
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ANGELA (1CH / 6.31): Other companies had already ceased
operations. My husband works on cruise ships too. (6.40) (6.49) They stopped earlier and went into quarantine long before the
worldwide alert. (6.57) (7.03)
There wasn’t a single case of coronavirus on their boat. Everyone
went home happy. (7.10) Unlike them, we embarked on an odyssey on
March 15. (7.15) |
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While many crew members were afraid of the trip
going ahead, some of the passengers were afraid it wouldn’t. |
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MUSIC |
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ANTONY (AZ1 /
3.18): I'm Antony
Philip. I live in Sydney. I used to fly for 20 years as a long-haul flight
attendant and I’ve travelled to over 170 countries and territories. |
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MUSIC |
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ANTONY (AZ1 /
6.59): I'd describe
myself as an adventurous traveller. |
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AMOS (AZ1 /
10.17): So how were you
feeling about the decision to embark on another international holiday when
coronavirus was obviously affecting some parts of the world? ANTONY (AZ1 / 11.16): Not unconcerned
and not unaware, but not believing that there was any inherent danger about
what I was about to embark on. |
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SEAGULLS &
SEA |
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ANTONY (11.45):
On the 15th of March, we had a, a pre-trip briefing // hosted by the managing
director of Aurora expeditions. And he assured us that it was without doubt,
the safest place on the planet to be - there was no corona whatsoever. |
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MUSIC |
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GRAHAM (10.18): I would have
been disappointed had it not gone ahead. Because I had been anticipating this
life dream for some time and look really looking forward to it. |
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GRAHAM HERO SHOT |
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Graham Paget is a retired surgeon from Denmark, West
Australia, who had a lifelong dream of walking with penguins. He booked a cabin on the Greg Mortimer with his
wife, Rose, who was also celebrating her 75th birthday. |
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GRAHAM (2G / 6.35): There were
several in our party who were very concerned that the trip was going ahead and they, uh,
had expressed these misgivings to the management of the trip. /// But they
were told that, uh, it was going to go ahead and if they chose to pull out,
then there would be no refund or recourse. |
(2) A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY - CUT
SHORT |
5 minutes |
TITLE: 15 MARCH |
SHIP’S HORN
(start of BM001) GM pulling away
from dock – 0.42/ BM0002 |
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The Greg Mortimer was the last cruise ship to leave
Ushuaia. |
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ANTONY (AZ1 /
18.51): I remember being
overwhelmed with excitement. I was pinching myself. (19.00) It was
just truly such a remarkable experience to be pushing back from the port of
Ushuaia, embarking on this trip that I had hoped to accomplish many, many
years ago and now it was actually happening. |
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MUSIC |
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AMOS (2G /
12.58): Tell me about
the first night. GRAHAM (13,.03): We had a party
for Rose because it was her birthday. And also for one of the other guys from
Denmark. Uh, so it was a joint birthday party and with a good celebration. AMOS (13.19): How does that
feel, looking back on that now? GRAHAM (13.37): To be honest, I
can't remember much about it. (14.57) The
events that followed on from that have just shadowed over it, I'm afraid for
me. |
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The first sign that the Greg Mortimer might be in
trouble came just hours after it set off, when Argentina’s president made a
live televised address. |
LIB190320 RTV
HEALTH CORONAVRISU LATAM |
ARGENTINA
PRESIDENT (00.24): We have made the decision that during the next 15 days we will
close the borders. No one can enter Argentina. |
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Their route back was now blocked. |
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JEFF (17.09): It was almost
like the trap was already sprung. This was already my feeling of oh dear. You
know, this could, this could not go well. |
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MUSIC |
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JEFF (8.12): My name's Jeff
Green, I live in New Zealand, and I was the expedition doctor on the Greg
Mortimer. |
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JEFF AT HOME |
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JEFF (16.12): It clearly was
that we're going to have to find a plan B straightaway. (16.43) So we
were going to do a trip to the peninsula and then we were going to fly out
from the Falklands back home. |
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PASSENGER VIDEO
SNOWFIGHT ON DECK |
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It was a few more days before passengers were told
of the plan to cut the trip short and leave from the Falklands. They felt that everything possible was being done to
ensure their safety. |
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ANTONY (AZ1 /
20.57): There were
sanitizing stations everywhere to clean your hands. They kept reminding us
that this was necessary. (21.13) Before
going into eat in the dining room, they literally had a staff member watch us
wash our hands with soap and water. |
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UPSOT MAID
CLEANING |
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ANTONY (AZ1 /
21.33): There was staff,
perpetually cleaning banisters, handrails, all the kinds of touch points that
one would expect. / it was a very proactive approach to trying to stop something before
it started. |
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UPSOT ROOM
CLEANING |
SPANISH SUBREEL |
ANGELA (CH1 / 18.44:) I was always feeling that… uncertainty. So I
worked as quickly as possible and protected myself as much as I could. I was
always thinking, “I hope no one has the virus. I hope the passengers are
safe.” (19.02) |
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MUSIC |
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Many of the crew were frightened of the passengers,
who they regarded as a source of possible infection. |
SPANISH SUBREEL |
ANGELA (CH1 /
21.06): Yes, the fear was always there. It’s like
an intuition /// When you have a gut feeling about something, but you hope
you’re wrong. |
TITLE: 18 MARCH |
MUSIC |
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ANTONY (AZ1 /
21.59): On the 18th we
arrived. (22.04) We
arrived at early morning to be surrounded by glaciers and icebergs /// it was
gobsmackingly beautiful. It was so pristine. The
colour of the light, I sound really like whacked, but it was like nothing
else I'd ever seen. (22.51)
Everybody was running around, clicking away, whether it was an iPhone or a
big SLR. They were videoing. Everybody was oohing and ahhing.
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VIDEO OF WHALES |
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GRAHAM (2G /
20.58): We could ///
just see these wonderful animals doing their thing. In spite of us. They
weren't perturbed by us at all. It was just beautiful. Um, and one of my
pictures /// is of, uh, a seal that was swimming just alongside the Zodiac
/// And he popped up and looked at me /// sort of saying, hello, who are you? |
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JEFF (19.26): You're seeing
things that are just gobsmacking. So the mood was
great. / There was always that feeling that we had, we were the lucky ones.
Everyone we knew back on Planet Earth was, was going into an increasingly
meltdown situation. But at that moment we felt that we were in this great
little bubble of purity. |
TITLE: 22 MARCH |
MUSIC |
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AMOS (22.02): What, what
happened to change all that? JEFF (22.20: I already
started noticing more people, coughing and sneezing in the talks. And I was
already ahhhh. What if? You know, so I repeated my
hygiene talk. (22.41) But then
on the afternoon of that day, one of the passengers came up to me and said,
um, I'd like you to come and see my wife. Uh, well, my partner, um, she's got
a fever. |
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MUSIC |
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JEFF (23.03): It was, you
know, it was high enough to be significant. So I
immediately went and told Mauricio who was the ship's doctor. So I immediately went and told Mauricio who was the ship's doctor and actually
had the sort of legal medical responsibility for the whole boat. And we went together. This was like, “Oh,
so close!” I mean, I must admit what went through my mind was, “And so it
starts. |
(3) COVID
STRIKES & LOCKDOWN |
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MUSIC |
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USME (1C / 27.46):
Jeff called me about one
passenger reporting, maybe fever (28.38) The protocol was very
clear. We need to put under isolation all the ship. Until we can rule out if
we have or not, COVID-19 |
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MUSIC |
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ANTONY (AZ1 /
34.59): We were informed
in the morning that we were required to stay inside our cabins. (35.11) There
was no talk that it was / COVID, it was
just, somebody had shown a higher temperature reading. // But they said to
take necessary precautions we're going to keep you all apart from each other.
/// And all services, meals would be delivered to us. |
SPANISH SUBREEL |
ANGELA (CH1 / 31.20:) In those days, there was
more work and also more pressure and anxiety because it wasn’t a holiday
cruise anymore. All the passengers were locked up and we were taking care of
them. (31.39) |
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MUSIC |
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JEFF (28.41): We would go into
full PPE and Mauricio, and I would then go and we divided up the different
decks and we would work our way through, uh, and we'd record all of the
temperatures. Uh, obviously looking for anyone spiking, other fevers. (29.03) We had a
couple of days where really, it just seemed like maybe this is just one
person, you know, maybe this is just a one off. (28.12) But
because of that one fever already, it meant that the Falklands wasn't going
to happen. |
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MUSIC |
SPANISH SUBREEL |
ANGELA (CH1 / 34.56): We were turned away at
the Falkland Islands. We had to
continue on our uncertain route. We
didn’t know where to go. |
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JEFF (30.00): What happens now
is that we changed to plan C. Yeah. And when we start heading off to Montevideo,
so that's when we start getting more rolling fevers. |
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DR USME (1U / 36.41): March 23, three patients with fever. March 24, five patients
with fever. In the moment that we did reach Uruguay we had minimum 10 people
with fever. |
Drone shots of Montevideo
port / GVs |
MUSIC |
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Their new destination – plan C – was Montevideo, the
capital of Uruguay, and the closest major port. But at a time when cruise ships are being turned away
from ports around the world, no one was sure what kind of welcome they would
receive there. |
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ANTONY (AZ1 /
40.43): I was now
wondering if we would be allowed to disembark with people with a temperature.
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(4) PRESSURE
FROM ABOVE – BULLYING OF DR USME |
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MUSIC |
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As head doctor, Mauricio Usme
found himself responsible for the health of more than 200 people on a ship
that probably had a deadly virus on board. But if he was expecting support from the ship’s
owners, he was disappointed. |
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MUSIC |
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HAIFER EMAIL: I wish to make it clear to you that if you do not
provide me with the information I require and follow my direction, you will
never work for us again. |
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South African-born
entrepreneur Glenn Haifer is also a registered
doctor and was medical consultant to P&O Cruises for 15 years. Haifer bought a stake in Aurora when well-known
mountaineer Greg Mortimer stepped back from the company he’d founded. We approached
Glenn Haifer and Aurora for an interview but they
declined. |
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USME (1C / 34.54): I cannot understand why this
person send me this email in this very rude tone and threatening me was I was
very disappointed. I was feeling that maybe I have
not the support, you know, the support from the company. |
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JEFF (30.30): Dr Usme is one of the best doctors I've ever worked with. / He
was under enormous pressure. /// He was really the man in the middle. He was
shouldering the entire, uh, responsibility and care of the ship. |
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MUSIC |
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PASSENGERS
LEAVING RUBY PRINCESS |
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As the ship sailed towards Uruguay, there was public
outcry in Sydney over passengers who’d been allowed to disembark from the
Ruby Princess less than a week earlier. 900 people would end up with COVID-19, and 28 people
died as a result. |
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Dr Usme thought it was his
duty to include as much detail as possible on the health declaration for the
Uruguayan authorities. |
GRAPHIC |
MUSIC |
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Dr Usme said that those on
board the Greg Mortimer had been quarantined, and that COVID-19 needed to be
ruled out. |
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MUSIC |
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But Glenn Haifer was
worried about whether they’d be allowed to disembark. |
GRAPHIC |
HAIFER EMAIL VO: “The risk we run is that of public outcry and that wharf
side workers refuse to allow the ship to berth and allow passenger to
disembark. [...] Please bear in mind that how you write the health declaration will influence the way
that this is viewed. We do not know if we have COVID-19. We are taking
precautions as if we do. Give limited information truthfully… |
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USME GREETS CAPTAIN: Hola Capitan. CAPTAIN: Hola… |
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In a recording made by Dr Usme
on the 23rd of March, the ship’s captain said he didn’t believe
the ship was in quarantine. |
GRAPHIC |
CAPTAIN (3.48) The ship is not
under quarantine. That is clear. USME: No the ship is
under quarantine. CAPTAIN: No it’s not. USME: Yes. - No - Yes |
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DR USME (1U / 45.31): And I told to the Captain, I
never going to change the health declaration because the health declaration
for Uruguay is showing the real situation on board. |
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JEFF (31.15): He's a very
moral person. (31.22) He's got
a very profound unshakeable, moral integrity. He kind of is almost a bit old
school. That he works out of medicine as a calling as a vocation rather than
a job. And that became clear as I worked with him. |
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USME (1U / 47.39): You know I was very
confused. In this moment
my feeling was I'm alone. nobody is helping me here. |
Hold USME SHOT under this line if possible The Drone of GM out to sea |
Aurora Expeditions disagrees with Dr Usme. In response, they said the highly selective
leaking of communications may serve the frustrations and agendas of
individual parties, but does not reflect the facts. |
(5) URUGUAY TO THE RESCUE |
5 MINUTES |
TITLE: 27 MARCH |
MUSIC |
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AMOS (40.47): So what, what
happens as you approach Uruguay? Are you able to dock in Montevideo? JEFF: No not at all.
And in fact, the whole of the Rio de la Plata was full of ships in our
situation. (41.08) We were
basically moored 20k off of Montevideo. |
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JEFF READS A
BLOODY LONELY PLANET |
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So far, everyone who was sick only had mild symptoms
– but Dr Green was afraid of what would happen if that changed, and they
needed access to a hospital. |
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JEFF (43.34): At that stage, I
was doing the maths, if it was COVID. And we had a population of 200 people.
That could mean 20 to 40 people getting really sick AMOS (44.06): Given what was
happening in hospitals in Northern Italy at the time you must have dreaded
that possibility. JEFF: Absolutely. You
know I'd already kind of followed and heard from doctors and nurses working
in that situation. It was like a war zone, you know. And I, I kind of, at
that stage, didn't know if that wasn't going to be reproduced in our
situation. |
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MORE TENSE MUSIC |
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Soon enough, the
doctors were confronted with their first seriously ill patient – Sydney
physiotherapist, Karl Schurr. |
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MUSIC |
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A photo records the moment that Dr Usme calls for help from the bridge. |
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JEFF (45,42): It was our test
case. Basically, we approached the hospitals in Uruguay in Montevideo and (45.57) then
luckily the British hospital accepted this patient. And within hours we were
getting a coast guard out and the famous transfer of our first patient occurred.
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TITLE: 31 MARCH |
KARL EVACUATED –
NAVY FOOTAGE RANDOM |
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MUSIC |
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Karl Schurr was taken to
the British Hospital and intubated. |
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UPSOT DOOR
KNOCKING |
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JEFF (49.47): Then at one
o'clock in the morning, I get a kind of repeated relentless knocking on my
door and I get out of bed. (50.01) And I
got a message from the captain by a crew member that I had to go and see
Mauricio. So I went and saw him and he was spiking a
horrendous fever. BEEP |
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USME (1U
/56.45): I remember I have very a lot of body pain discomfort.
Immediately I know that I have coronavirus also. And I was in my cabin in
isolation immediately. That means Dr Jeff was the doctor now with the responsibilities
on board. |
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JEFF (54.35): Yeah I feel this
huge weight now has landed on my shoulders. Not only am I my last man
standing, but also it's clear that it's COVID. So I just really, you know, I mean, that's like darkest
hours stuff really. |
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AD BREAK HERE |
(6) UPSTAIRS
/ DOWNSTAIRS – CREW GETTING SICK |
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MUSIC |
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The Greg Mortimer cruise ship was anchored off the
coast of Uruguay with 217 passengers and crew on board – many of them
Australian. Some had symptoms of COVID-19. Around the same time the first passenger was being
evacuated from the ship, cabin maid Angela Gavilan also received bad news. |
SPANISH SUBREEL |
ANGELA (CH1 40.37): When the doctor told me I had fever it was a shock. /// I started to
feel sick that day, with a bad headache.
The next day my body hurt. I
couldn’t get out of bed. My roommate
had a high fever. It was one sick person looking after another. I was very
worried about her because her fever wouldn’t break. |
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The passengers and
crew both faced the same threat, but they weren’t really in it together. |
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UPSOT BALCONY
EXERCISE (CCV1 / 00.20) It’s a thing of
beauty, isn’t it? |
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Passengers could stave
off cabin fever with exercise and imagination. |
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UPSOT BOTTLE BOWLS (CCV3 / 00.00): Ok, he thinks he’s going to get it, but it’s not
lawn bowls, Danny, remember that. [strike
& laughter] |
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Life was different
downstairs. |
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ANGELA (CH1 / 47.04): My roommate slept on the
bottom bed and I slept on the top one. These are very tiny spaces with no
natural light. (47.15) |
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MUSIC |
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ANGELA (CH1 / 45.12): The passengers’
staterooms, of course, are very luxurious, spacious, with balconies and lots
of light. For the crew, normally their
rooms are below the waterline. (47.15) It was very
difficult to stay in the cabin as we didn’t know if it was day or night.
(47.33) |
(7)
ROSE IS SICK |
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MUSIC |
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AMOS (31.28): Tell me what
happened when, when Rose got sick? GRAHAM (31:33): Well, it was just
another day in our confined cabin /// and Rose had developed this slightly
irritating cough that wouldn't go away. I thought that I
ought to let Jeff Green know. AMOS: The doctor. GRAHAM: Yes. |
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FX OLD LADY
COUGHING |
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GRAHAM: (2G / 32.45) He examined
Rose, listened to her chest and was sufficiently worried to put her on some
oxygen. |
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JEFF (1.02.42): Because she, she
had some of those co-morbidity things we were still looking at at people of risk and she was older and it just meant that
things could go pear shaped more quickly. |
TITLE: 3 APRIL |
MUSIC |
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JEFF (1.03.56): The next
morning, I went in to follow up and there were more signs of concern. (1.04.14) And at
that stage, I really felt more than anyone she needed to be evacuated. |
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GRAHAM (2G /
35.38): Well, they came
down and dressed her in a full PPE stuff as well and she was on oxygen, an oxygen
mask at that stage, which helped her cough. And I was reassured by that. Um,
and so they (37.35) She just
disappeared. |
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MUSIC |
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ROSE TRANSFERRED (BM027) |
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Rose Paget was the second passenger
evacuated from the Greg Mortimer. She was also taken
to the British Hospital in Montevideo. A few days later,
Graham got a phone call to say she’d been intubated – and it was just the
beginning of the bad news he would receive from the hospital. |
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GRAHAM (2G / 40.15): I still look back on that with dread because I can
distinctly remember thinking to myself, what, what the hell do I do in this
country where I don't speak a word of Spanish and I get a message from ICU
that, sorry, we'd done our best, but that didn't work and she's passed away. |
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If Graham was going
to see Rose before it was too late, he’d need a helping hand from Uruguay. |
(8) TESTING |
2 - 3 minutes |
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MUSIC |
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DR KARINA RANDO (2U / 00.58): I am Dr. Karina Rando. I am the
General Director of of Cordination
of the Ministry of Health in Uruguay. (26.15) We could not continue going one by one to pick up every
sick patient. /// We
start to be worried because the boat was big. There was a lot of people on
board. /// We
need to do something bigger. |
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MUSIC |
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DR KARINA RANDO (16.41): We arranged that we were going to go to, to the boat and check
every patient and decide what to do after that. |
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ANTONY (AZ2 / 57.18): Watching people
come on board, the doctors in full PPE, made me realize the actual severity
of our situation./// It was actually quite shocking
and quite spooky, It was like, Oh my goodness. And this is us. They really
believe we are infected. |
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All the passengers and crew were tested for coronavirus. When the results came back, they took everyone by
surprise. |
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JEFF (1.11.13): They said that
at the moment, there was 60% positive on the boat. So
this was like out of the ballpark. I mean, I I'd thought that maybe like 20%,
you know. (1.16.13) So
you're on this ship and you realize that you're in a kind of COVID incubator.
That you're actually on a floating Petri dish, really. |
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AMOS (3U / 23.29ish): What did you
think when you got the test results back? DR KARINA RANDO
(3U / 23.33): Well, we think
“Houston, we have a problem.” |
NWT |
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Next week, the story continues… |
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DR KARINA RANDO: We said, we have to do something. These people cannot stay in
that boat for longer. |
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Uruguay mounts a rescue operation for the passengers
on the Greg Mortimer |
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ANTONY (AZ2 /
26.35): You know, we’re
sort of like in the worst possible way, celebrities for all the wrong
reasons. |
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But the crew feel abandoned… |
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DR USME (2C /
27.58): People. very
clear they told, we want jump from the ship. I'm feeling like that I gonna die on board. |
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And tragically, one of those on board
would never make it home. |
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NENA (1P / 17.41): When he was at the hospital he called me After that, there were no
more video calls from him. (18.13) |
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GRAHAM: I couldn't say
goodbye cause there was a bloody window there and I couldn't touch her |
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And up next – The Feed. |
(2) SICK CREW - 2 DOCTORS DOWN
& RONNIE LORENZO |
3
MINUTES |
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MUSIC |
|
Infection continued to spread on the
Greg Mortimer long after passengers were isolated in their rooms – the most
likely cause was contaminated surfaces. |
|
MUSIC |
|
But
passengers were at least able to relax in comfort, and
got regular updates via announcements over the ship’s loudspeaker. |
|
MUSIC |
|
Sick
crew like housekeeper Angela Gavilan were in cramped rooms below deck. |
SPANISH SUBREEL |
ANGELA (CH1 / 47.26): It was very difficult to remain
there as we did not know if it was daytime or night time
(47.33) (59.47) Those announcements
could not be heard from our rooms, so we didn’t know
what was going on. (59.56) |
|
As crew morale sank, Filipino store keeper Ronnie Lorenzo reached out to his friends in
isolation. |
|
ANGELA (CH1 / All the crew loved him.
Everyone loved him. Because he was like a father. /// For me that was
a great friendship at that moment because when I was isolated (1.08.01) (1.08.21) he would call us, he was always there for us. (1.09.11) Then he called me to tell me that he had been
isolated as well. So he was worried. (1.09.35) |
|
Ronnie’s
condition soon worsened, worrying his friends, and his family at home in the
Philippines. Both
of the ship’s
doctors, Colombian Mauricio Usme and Kiwi Jeff Green
– were also sick. |
|
JEFF (13.44): I wasn't
surprised I was positive (1.14.02) But what it did
change was that I was now no longer able to go out and see people. I was actually a source of infection. I wasn't
a source of help anymore. |
|
New doctors from Uruguay had taken over the care of
the passengers and crew on the ship. |
Move Usme strap top right |
AMOS (2C / 6.35): Are you telling your wife, your children what is happening
at this time? DR USME (6.48): In the moment that I was with shortness of breath… Was very difficult. You know why? Because maybe, I don't know if I, I, the possible complication and die in
an intensive care unit, maybe no more opportunities to talk with my family. Was
necessarily for me to tell them about my situation. My family was very worried. |
|
MUSIC |
|
Behind
the scenes, Aurora Expeditions and the Australian government had been trying
to find a solution. Uruguay
agreed to act. |
|
DR KARINA RANDO (4U / 2.06): We said, we have to do something.
These people cannot stay in that boat for longer. (5.28) There was a huge cooperation between Uruguay and
Australian government. |
(3) PASSAGE TO AUSTRALIA |
4.5
minutes |
|
TEVE CIUDAD NEWS STING
(IfC111 / 00.00) |
TEVE CIUDAD IfCO70 SPANISH SUBREEL 7 |
NEWSREADER (00.08): Tomorrow, Australian and
New Zealander passengers who are on the Greg Mortimer will go on flights to
return home tomorrow. (00.14) |
TITLE: 11 April |
MUSIC |
|
This
was the news that passengers had been so eager to hear – Uruguay would let
them disembark in order to catch a charter flight
home. |
|
JEFF (1.22.52): On Good Friday on the evening, they, you heard the anchor
being pulled up and this amazing moment that we started sailing into
Montevideo. (1.23.33) So I didn't know what
was going to happen (1.23.10) There were stories from other countries in South
America where as people pulled in, there were
actually protesters lining the, you know, lining the docks. |
|
DR KARINA RANDO (4U / 8.25): We prepare the buses. We separate the drivers from the
people. Eh, we were very clear that they couldn't
have all the luggage with them because we would not be able to be helping
them with the luggage. |
|
ANTONY (AZ / 1.23.42): We're
watching the buses all line up. And there were an awful lot of ambulances.
And I was a bit perplexed I have to say as to why. (1.24.26) As I look out to my right, I'm
very close to the gangway. A person in a wheelchair in full protective armour,
looks like a human mummy, seated in this wheelchair is there. And I thought, “Oh my God”, what's
going on here? What is really happening? I didn't work out
who it was until we actually got into quarantine in Melbourne. AMOS (1.28.47): Who, who was it? ANTONY (1.28.48): It was my friend, Dr. Mauricio Usme. |
|
MUSIC |
|
DR USME (2C /
8.55): Ronnie
Lorenzo and myself, we were disembarking. First
ambulance was for me and second ambulance was for him. (12.21) Because
Ronnie got a inflammation,
like a pneumonia also. |
|
Dr
Usme, who’d led the efforts to protect everyone on
board, was hospitalised along with store keeper
Ronnie Lorenzo. Both
were fighting for their lives. |
|
MUSIC |
|
…
Meanwhile the Australians and New Zealanders were escorted to the airport
along a so-called “sanitary corridor”, to prevent the spread of any infection
in Uruguay. |
|
JEFF (1.25.00): And then slowly this entire cavalcade, which was about a
kilometre long, moved out of the protection of the dock and we started
driving through the streets of Montevideo. And then people started saying, they're
cheering |
|
MUSIC |
|
ANTONY (1.26.10): The people of Montevideo were lined up on the streets,
waving banners, little children, you know, blowing kisses, to people that
never met before. (1.26.34) You know, we’re sort of
like in the worst possible way, celebrities for all the wrong reasons. But
you couldn't help, but feel the care, compassion and
concern by people we've never met for what we had gone through. |
|
MUSIC |
|
ANTONY (1.27.52): I think it touched everybody on the ship. A lot of
passengers didn't even know about Uruguay or
Montevideo and when they had said that that's where we were going, people had
asked, where is it? Well now
|
|
ARCHIVE PASSENGERS
BOARDING PLANE |
|
DR KARINA RANDO (4U / 21.40): When there is a crisis there shouldn't
be frontiers. So
I think that Uruguay did what we should do. Is nothing marvellous. Is just what people should do when something like this
happen AMOS: Just being a good citizen KARINA: Yes, is what we would like to do is if we were in the
boat, we would like somebody to take care of us. |
|
MUSIC |
|
JEFF (1.27.21): On the plane, / it was clear that they'd also
set it up as a hospital because there were |
|
PASSENGER VIDEO TAKEOFF? |
|
JEFF (1.27.45): It was the weirdest flight of my life. |
|
PLANE LANDS (SBS NEWS 120420 / 2.03) REPORTER: Touchdown in Australia after a long international ordeal. UPSOT JESZ VIDEO APPLAUSE IN CABIN ON LANDING (also on SBS
story) |
|
JEFF (1.28.33): When we finally landed in Melbourne (1.28.47) there are helicopters hovering from TV stations
and, you know, we'd sort of become a news item. |
|
SBS NEWS (120420 / 2.10): With a fleet of ambulances and buses greeting them, more
than a hundred passengers from the Greg Mortimer cruise ship are at last back
home. |
|
JEFF ON FARM |
|
JEFF (1.29.01): Yeah, it felt good to be home. |
|
FINAL SHOT JEFF ON FARM? |
(5)
GRAHAM’S STORY - PART 1 |
|
|
MUSIC |
DRONE SHOTS |
Their
fellow passengers had left, but Australians, Rose
Paget, and Karl Schurr were in the ICU at the
British Hospital in Montevideo. Their
partners, who’d tested positive for COVID, were also
at the hospital in isolation. |
|
MUSIC |
|
GRAHAM (3G / 9.55) Rose could have been a million
miles away for all the contact I could have. (2G / 42.47) I was sort of stuck in this room. I had a
lovely window and I could see outside into the
gardens and watch the birds. |
|
AMOS (45.00): Just must've felt so isolated. GRAHAM (45:07): Oh, totally. Yes. |
|
Graham
was told Rose had been placed in a coma and intubated – then that her kidneys
had failed – and shortly after, that she had a significant gastrointestinal
bleed |
|
UPSOT HOSPITAL BUSTLE |
|
AMOS (50.25): What was the worst time for you in the hospital? GRAHAM (50:41): I find it hard to talk
about, but one Sunday morning, the doctor who had come in each day to give me
Rose's progress, uh, came in and got me to deck up in full PPE, uh, and put
me in a wheelchair and took me through to ICU. And I thought that was
the end. AMOS: Is that why they took you
to see her? GRAHAM (52:43): Yeah, I'm
quite sure that. Um, they felt that I was, I had that to be able to see her
before I saw her in the, in the, the, uh, undertaker's parlor.
In a box. GRAHAM (53:25): And I couldn't
say goodbye cause there was a bloody window there and I couldn't touch her, I
couldn’t…. |
(4)
PAYING THE ULTIMATE PRICE- RONNIE’S DEATH |
2.5 MINUTES |
|
MUSIC |
|
Most of the passengers had gone home, but
for the ship’s crew, the nightmare was far from over. |
|
DR USME (1C / 22.12): Remember that the passengers be disembarking, April 10 (22.23) But all the crew members still on board, and
nobody told us nothing. And no intention for disembark. |
SPANISH SUBREEL |
ANGELA
(1.33.34): I
felt bad, I felt physically bad, my mood was bad, I could not sleep.
(1.33.52) |
|
Angela didn’t even
know that her friend, Ronnie Lorenzo had been taken to hospital. |
SPANISH SUBREEL |
ANGELA
(1.10.21): Suddenly,
one day he did not call me. (1.10.26) (1.10.32)
The following day I called him and he did not pick
up. |
|
GVs
RONNIE’S HOME TOWN |
|
WS
FAMILY HOME |
|
At
home in the Philippines, Ronnie’s anxious wife Nena spoke to her husband in
hospital. |
TAGALOG SUBREEL |
NENA (1P / 17.41): When he was at the hospital
he called me. He was already wearing
something like a mask and he took it off just so he
could talk to us and tell us not to worry but I could feel that he was
already having a hard time. After that, there were no more video calls from
him. (18.13) |
|
DR USME (2C / 9.03): The intensive care unit, his bed was close to my bed. I
can, I can see him for the window. And I told him, Ronnie, don't
worry. Like, you know, everything is going to be fine. |
TITLE: 15 April |
DR USME LEAVES HOSPITAL – FARWELLED BY STAFF |
|
Dr
Mauricio Usme got a hero’s send-off when he was
discharged from hospital. He
went straight back to the Greg Mortimer. Ronnie
wasn’t with him. |
TAGALOG
SUBREEL |
NENA
(1P / 18.52): On
April 17... the bad news came. Ronnie didn’t make it. (19.20) |
Photo of Ronnie |
SAD
MUSIC |
|
USME (23.10): The announcement, uh, from the Captain by the speakers was
maybe 3:30 PM. Was disaster. (23.41) Nobody talk for maybe 30 minutes. People was crying. |
|
ANGELA
(1.29.00): It
was a big blow. It was in that moment when the captain announced it, it was
so hard for me because he was a very close
friend. It was really
hard. To this day, when I think of him, I cry. |
|
UPSOT
NENA AND FAMILY |
|
52 year-old Ronnie Lorenzo had been on the Greg Mortimer
since its maiden voyage last year. Like so many of
the crew, his widow always thought their last trip was too risky. |
TAGALOG
SUBREEL |
NENA (1P / 35.13): That’s what I had been
saying to him… Why go when there’s a pandemic? But he also told me that there’s
nothing they can do but follow orders, I told him that they should have
stopped. (35.31) |
Bring him up over Nena |
DR USME (2C / 19.43): In the moment that Ronnie died was the breakpoint. People was very sad. People was disappointed for the
company. Also, people was feeling that the next person with complication is
everyone. You know, you know to the people was, was feeling that Ronnie today
died, but maybe tomorrow I gonna die also, you
know. |
(6) MUTINY ON THE GREG MORTIMER |
3.5 MINUTES |
|
MUSIC |
SPANISH SUBREEL |
ANGELA (1.36.24): Ronnie’s death triggered all
this discomfort and feelings of anger. Passengers went home on a private plane and we as crew
were kept locked down. We were still infected and
nothing happened. |
|
MUSIC |
|
Members
of the crew also say they were given food that had expired, and their access
to the internet was restricted. They
were now more desperate than ever to get off the ship. |
|
MUSIC |
|
But
Cruise Management International, a Miami-based company responsible for the
crew and the ship’s operation, wanted them to sail to the Canary Islands when
they were COVID-free. With
infection still spreading on board, the crew were fearful of a second,
ill-fated voyage. |
|
ANGELA (1.47.37): Just like Ronnie had died,
anyone could get worse during the trip and could die. (1.45.14) We were asking to be repatriated to our
countries. (1.45.21) |
NEW WOB with
full stop |
ANGELA (1.33.52:) There were lots of colleagues who were trying to organise
a sort of revolution. They were talking about many
things, people who wanted to set the boat on fire, people who wanted to
trigger the fire alarm bells to attract other boats and get the city’s attention. |
SPANISH
SUBREEL 7 |
HOST ON TV
SHOW (???): Can you
imagine being in that situation, away from home, away from your family and
with communication problems? (1.10) |
|
In
the end, some of the crew decided to go public with their complaints. |
SPANISH
SUBREEL 7 |
HOST ON TV
SHOW (1.10): Well, we
chatted with Carolina and this is part of her testimony (1.13) |
SPANISH
SUBREEL 7 |
CAROLINA ON
TV (2.57): How long do
we have to wait till they take action? Please, take
us out of here. |
|
DR USME (2C / 27.58): People. very clear they told, we
want jump from the ship. I'm feeling like that I gonna die on board. |
TITLE: 12 May |
MUSIC |
|
Eventually,
with support from the public and sympathetic trade unions, the crew’s prayers
were answered. A
month after the passengers had gone home, Uruguay agreed to let the crew
disembark. |
SPANISH
SUBREEL |
ANGELA
PTC IN HAZMAT SUIT: I’m here on the day of our farewell from the Greg
Mortimer, here with my hazmat suit, I’m ready to go to the hotel, to do hotel
quarantine. I’m waiting to be negative so I can go
home. |
|
MUSIC |
GM docks |
DR USME (2C / 32.15): In the moment that we had the confirmation official /// everyone
was very happy. The stress was immediately cooled
down. People was happy calling the families Everybody was feeling that we are safe. You know, we are
safe. We are safe because ashore is different than if you are alone in the
ocean. |
“CREW ARRIVE HOTEL” / 6.19 onwards – in BROADCASTER
TELEVISION NACIONAL URUGUAY folder |
CREW ARRIVE HOTEL – APPLAUSE |
|
With so many international borders closed,
it would be many weeks before everyone was finally repatriated. |
TELEMUNDO 23
MAY story |
FOOTAGE GREG MORTIMER SETTING SAIL |
Mix |
We
approached Cruise Management International for comment, but they turned down
repeated interview requests. (MORE PAUSE) The Greg Mortimer set sail for the Canary
Islands with a skeleton crew… where it awaits its next cruise in 2021. But more than two months after setting off
on the holiday of a lifetime, 4 Australian passengers were still in hospital,
far from home. |
|
AD BREAK
HERE |
(7) GRAHAM’S STORY – PART 2 |
2
MINUTES |
Montevideo scenic drone |
MUSIC |
|
The last Australian passengers from the
Greg Mortimer were still recovering from COVID-19 in Uruguay. Sydney physiotherapist Karl Schurr spent 3 weeks in ICU, but it was another 6 weeks
before he was well enough to return home. Rose Paget eventually stepped back from the
brink of death, and slowly emerged from her long coma. In total, Graham and Rose spent almost
three months in the British hospital. |
GP23 |
GRAHAM (3G / 13.04): It was a very, very
gradual process. When I first was allowed round to see her in her ICU room, I
had to gown and glove and mask and everything, and she was basically
comatose. If I spoke her name, she could just open her eyes, uh, and
obviously recognized me, uh, with a bit of a smile. |
GP10 GP11 |
MUSIC |
GP14 or 15 |
GRAHAM (3G / 18.11): There was a big send off from
ICU. The whole staff gathering around
Rose’s stretcher. Wishing us Godspeed. |
GP17 GP16 |
When her condition had stabilised enough
for her to travel, her insurer provided a medically-equipped
private jet for the journey home. |
|
ROSE’S PLANE APPROACHES
RUNWAY |
|
AMOS (3G / 19.50): What was it like when you touched down? GRAHAM (19.58): Totally overwhelming, I remember I could see out of my
window Fremantle port with ships, boats coming in and out. |
|
FAMILY IN VIDEO YELLING AS PLANE TOUCHES DOWN |
|
GRAHAM (3G / 20.23): For me, it was emotionally overwhelming. I was able to // shed
tears on the tarmac at Perth airport. |
8) ROSE’S RECOVERY |
2.5
MINUTES |
|
MUSIC |
|
AMOS (4G / 00.01): Hello! Rose! ROSE: Hi. Hi. GRAHAM: Hi Amos. Good to
see you. |
ROSE DOING PHYSICAL THERAPY |
After
a six-month ordeal, she’s alive and… if not well,
then at least improving. |
|
UPSOT PHYSICAL THERAPY |
|
Rose
is dealing with the long-term effects of COVID-19 and is still piecing
together what happened to her in Uruguay. |
|
ROSE (4G / 7.09): I remember arriving in a little foyer at the front of the
hospital going inside and I don’t remember much after
that, to be perfectly honest. (8.15) I've had to rely on
Graham, my husband so, so much because, um, you know, he, he's, he's, my
memory card (laughs). (11.00) I still, still
sometimes feel as if i'm in a dream or a nightmare,
you know, sometimes, but, um, certainly the worst is behind me. I'm sure. |
|
ROSE DOING PHYSICAL THERAPY |
|
GRAHAM (2G / 55.06): A couple of weeks ago when she was starting her ability to
stand up, uh, I was able to give her a hug and that was overwhelming as well,
because this was the first time since we'd been on the boat that, I'd been able
to give her a hug. And, um, I started crying then too, |
|
ROSE DOING PHYSICAL THERAPY |
|
Several
passengers and crew are still dealing with the lingering effects of COVID-19. Rose’s
doctors don’t yet know whether there’s been any
long-term damage to her kidneys. |
Let’s
use some photos of them in Antarctica – I’ll find I think the shots are too crazy. No zodiacs. Keep the boat
going through ice, maybe getty icebergs... then
maybe pensive shot of woman reading book?
|
MUSIC |
|
AMOS (3G / 39.45): How do you feel looking back on the decision to go ahead
with the cruise? GRAHAM (3G / 44.21) A lot of my colleagues from Denmark
were very angry at that decision. I am still grateful
for the opportunity, even though it was curtailed, but for Rose, I think she
will deserve some compensation, um, how that will come about I don't know yet
we haven't decided. |
10) CONCLUSION |
2.5
MINUTES |
|
Aurora
Expeditions has offered passengers a two-thirds refund or a ticket on any
other cruise. Some
have already signed up for a special trip next year which will embark from
Montevideo. But
Antony Philip doesn’t feel ready to face another
cruise. |
|
ANTONY (AZ2 / 1.22.45): I got on healthy and I left retrospectively very damaged. (AZ3 / 8.12) I felt my holiday, my selfish desire, as I
rationalized it, has now cost a gentleman his life. (AZ3 / 11.38) This is a gentleman in his early fifties with
a family. How did this go so horribly wrong? (AZ3 / 41.23) I can only say that they put profits before people.
It was a money-making decision. |
|
MUSIC |
|
ANGELA TAKING PILLS / LOOKING OUT WINDOW |
|
Angela
Gavilan says she’s also been scarred by her
experience. |
SPANISH SUBREEL CHANGE WOB - anyone |
ANGELA (2.04.00): I’m taking antidepressants and sleeping pills.
(2.04.06) (2.11.35) It was really hard. It was even harder to lose someone who was
our workmate. That’s the hardest thing. And honestly
knowing it could have been prevented by putting human lives before money. (2.12.01) This is
the first time I’ve talked about this with anyone.
(2.12.07) |
|
In
a statement, Aurora Expeditions told Dateline |
|
“The
decision to set sail was made following wide consultation and based on the
information available to us at the time. Our
number one priority has always been the health and wellbeing of our
passengers, staff and crew.” |
|
UPSOT RONNIE’S
FAMILY WITH GRANDSON |
|
Ronnie
Lorenzo became a grandfather while he was working on the Greg Mortimer. |
TAGALOG SUBREEL |
NENA (2P /
26.30): Now he can’t see his grandchild.
They’d see each other by video call. All our
dreams are gone. (26.45) |
|
Ronnie was the breadwinner for his extended family –
he was supporting a brother with leukemia and a son with special needs. But what his family really misses is his kindness. |
TAGALOG SUBREEL |
NENA (2P /
25.20): When he was
on a trip, whenever he saw something that might be nice for me, he would call
me. “Ma, there’s a perfume here that
smells really good. It suits you,” Even for the kids. He spoiled me. (25.43) He would
always put us first. Those are the things that I really miss about him.
(26.26) |
Medellin drone |
MUSIC |
|
Back
home in Colombia, where the pandemic has killed more than 27,000 people, Dr
Mauricio Usme is putting his experience on the Greg
Mortimer to good use. |
|
UPSOT DR USME (MU28): Hello Amos, how you doing my friend? |
|
Working
in a hospital ICU for COVID patients in Medellin, Dr Usme
seems strangely energised by his ordeal. |
|
DR USME INTRO PATIENT MU29 |
|
DR USME (2C / 59.26): I always telling to my patient,
my friend, I was in the bed like you. I can feel that you are feeling, don't worry. You're going to be
fine. |
|
UPSOT DR USME INTRO COLLEAGUE OR PATIENT 2 (MU30-31) |
|
DR USME (58.20): I'm so happy and so happy because God gave me the
opportunity to feel in my body, in my mind, in my soul what's mean to be a patient with COVID. And now I can to pay back, pay back to the life, the opportunity. I'm so happy to work in, in, in this unit. I'm so happy. |