Interpreters on the frontline assisting Greg Mortimer cruise passengers return home
As Australia remains in a State of Emergency due to COVID-19, LanguageLoop, Australia’s leading language service provider, has been working on the frontline with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on a mercy flight carrying 112 Australian and New Zealand passengers who had been stranded on the Antarctic cruise ship, the Greg Mortimer, for two weeks.
The flight with a possible 70 COVID-19 infected passengers landed in Melbourne from Uruguay on Sunday morning. The flight was greeted with an army of Border Protection Officers, Federal Police, ambulances and health professionals. One of LanguageLoop’s Spanish interpreters was also there to assist those passengers with English as a second language. Our interpreter was prepped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including medical grade gloves, masks and goggles and was asked to inform passengers of their disembarking and quarantine instructions in Spanish. By sheer luck all the passengers and crew spoke English so DHHS staff could inform them of the quarantine requirements themselves. LanguageLoop’s Spanish interpreter was on standby just in case.
The entire process took four hours with medical professionals assessing each passenger once they disembarked the aircraft. Multiple SkyBuses were on standby to ferry the passengers to their hotels where they would undertake the Government’s mandatory two week quarantine period. With numerous methodical procedures and protocols in place, LanguageLoop and will continue working with DHHS to ensure equal access for any further returning passengers making sure everyone is accommodated for during this very challenging process.
About LanguageLoop
LanguageLoop is Australia’s leading language services business and only full-service language provider. LanguageLoop’s extensive network of over 3,000 interpreters and translators speak over 180 languages. With over 40 years’ experience, LanguageLoop is trusted by Australia’s state and federal governments and leading brands including AGL, Energy Australia, The Westpac Group, IAG and others. Every year, LanguageLoop helps organisations connect with over 500,000 non-English speakers though its extensive range of services including on-site, telephone and on-demand video interpreting, translations, 24/7 multilingual chat bots and other digital language solutions. For more information visit languageloop.com.au.
