In an explosive interview with Ben Fordham, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has blamed misinformation from crew for the failure to contain coronavirus on board the Ruby Princess.

Seven of the 24 reported coronavirus deaths have been passengers from the ship, and more than 560 diagnoses – a tenth of all Australian cases – are connected to it.

Premier Berejiklian defended the actions of health authorities, acknowledging the protocols at the time weren’t up to scratch.

“NSW Health assures me that they exceeded their protocols in what they had to do.

“Everybody on board who disembarked was instructed to self-isolate, and that is a fact.

“Of course all authorities needed to step up and tighten the protocols, which is exactly what we did in NSW, which is why Commissioner Fuller is now in charge of dealing with all the federal authorities.”

The failure to contain the virus and infected passengers has infuriated commentators and members of the public.

“Someone in a trusted public position let sick people leave a cruise ship, and spread a deadly virus across Australia,” Ben grilled the Premier.

“How can we trust the same authorities now when they were so stupid with the Ruby Princess?”

“They relied on advice provided by the ship,” Ms Berejiklian fired back.

“These health officials are working around the clock. They’re working day and night and putting their own health on the line for other people.”

“So your concern,” Ben followed up, “is that the health department was given the wrong information from people on board that ship?”

“That is absolutely potentially the case,” the Premier responded.

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview