World-first mutated strain of COVID-19 detected on Sofrana Surville ship off Queensland coast

Crew members on a cargo ship forced to anchor off Queensland’s Sunshine Coast were infected with a mutated strain of coronavirus undetected elsewhere in the world, health officials say.

The Liberian-flagged Sofrana Surville and its 19 crew were stopped from docking at the Port of Brisbane after arriving in Queensland waters in late October via New Caledonia.

Eight crew had joined the ship in New Zealand at the Port of Auckland on October 13 from the Philippines, the same day…