SYDNEY, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The virus-hit cruise ship Ruby Princess left Port Kembla, south of Sydney, in Australia on Thursday.

The Ruby Princess has been linked to more than 600 COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths in Australia as of Thursday and has been stranded in New South Wales (NSW) waters in the past two months amid concern of the health needs of the crew on board.

Before the departure, 368 Filipino crew members have been disembarked from the ship in a coordinated operation by NSW authorities.

Eleven of them tested positive to COVID-19 have been sent to NSW Health-managed hotels for quarantine, the NSW police said.

They will join other infected crew members in those facilities and would fly back to their countries of origin once their health condition cleared by NSW Health.

The rest group members disembarked on Thursday have been escorted to Sydney airport and will fly back to the Philippines on Thursday night.

The remaining crew on board the Ruby Princess left Port Kembla about 4:30 p.m. local time on Thursday. ■