Following COVID-19 situation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended its “No Sail Order” for cruise ships until September 30, 2020.
In fact, the order further suspends passenger operations on cruise ships with the capacity to carry at least 250 passengers in waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
For the records, the first No Sail Order came into effect from March 14, when the US coronavirus cases started to increase.
According to CDC, this action will remain into effect until the earliest of:
- The expiration of the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency,
- The CDC Director rescinds or modifies the order based on specific public health or other considerations,
- or September 30, 2020.
What is more, CDC noted that from March 1 to July 10, a total of 2,973 COVID-19 or “COVID-like illness” cases as well as 34 deaths on cruise ships, nine of them still having ongoing or resolving outbreaks on board. During this time frame, 80% of ships were affected by COVID-19, including 99 outbreaks on 123 different cruise ships.
In light of the above, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commented.
If unrestricted cruise ship passenger operations were permitted to resume, passengers and crew on board would be at increased risk of COVID-19 infection and those that work or travel on cruise ships would place substantial unnecessary risk on healthcare workers, port personnel and federal partners (i.e., Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard), and the communities they return to.
Concluding, CDC fully supports the June 19th decision by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) external icon to extend voluntarily the suspension of operations for passenger cruise ship travel until September 15, 2020.
