The boat, so far linked to 21 coronavirus deaths and up to 600 infections across Australia, was led out of the Wollongong port bound for Manila in the Philippines shortly before 5pm today.

It has been moored south of Sydney at Port Kembla for more than a fortnight following a COVID-19 outbreak. The Illawarra Mercury covered its departure from a chopper. Watch it all unfold here.

The Ruby Princess sailed out of Port Kembla with water cannons signaling the city's well wishes for the crew still on board.

The special commission of inquiry into the Ruby Princess yesterday heard Dr Ilse Von Watzdorf had marked "no" in response to a question on a Maritime Arrivals Reporting System form about whether there was the potential spread of infection or disease from the ship.

Today the same inquiry heard the hotel manager on board the Ruby Princess was surprised guests who had been tested for COVID-19 had been permitted to leave the ill-fated cruise ship before results were released.

The inquiry is running parallel to a police probe that is expected to deliver its findings by September.

In Canberra today Scott Morrison dashed hopes of the jobless allowance remaining at double its usual rate after the coronavirus crisis subsides.

The PM has indicated he is not interested in extending the timeframe despite the fact many sacked employees will still be struggling to find work.

"We put a COVID supplement in place for the period of the pandemic and that's what we've budgeted for and that's what our policy is," he said bluntly.

Mr Morrison and his treasurer Josh Frydenberg also today called on the banks to make bridging finance available for businesses receiving the government's JobKeeper wage subsidy payments.

Formal applications for the $130 billion program opened on Monday, with 275,000 businesses already applying. More than 900,000 businesses have registered their interest in recent weeks.

On a more personal economic note, an Albury woman has urged people to seek legal advice before deferring home loan payments during the coronavirus pandemic after her credit rating was "annihilated" in just a few weeks.

Her credit rating plunged hundreds of points over a six week period, with a credit report showing it dropped when the payments were deferred.

She said anyone looking to take such measures during the pandemic should be wary.

Wariness and the COVID-19 pandemic just seem to go hand-in-hand.

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