US federal health officials extended for nearly three more months its rules that cruise ships must follow to sail during the pandemic.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the extension makes only “minor modifications” to rules already in effect.
According to the agency, after January 15, it plans to move to a voluntary program for cruise companies to detect and control the spread of COVID-19 on their ships. The current regulations, called a conditional sailing order, were scheduled to expire on November 1.
The CDC imposed the first no-sail order on cruise lines in March 2020, after most companies sailing in U.S. waters had agreed to suspend voyages.
The CDC issue technical guidelines for the industry five months later, and began approving trial sailings this spring.
Cruises have since sailed from Florida and other parts of the country. Most lines require adult passengers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
Furthermore, the CDC noted that since it first issued restrictions on sailing, cruise lines have developed and implemented health and safety protocols to manage COVID-19.
Commenting on he development, Laziza Lambert, a spokeswoman for the Cruise Lines International Association, said that “cruising has successfully resumed in the United States”, with measures that have limited the risk of COVID-19 for passengers and crew members.
However, industry officials have complained that the government took a much tougher stance against cruising, than it took toward airlines and other parts of the travel industry.
