WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention on Friday issued new guidelines to the cruise ship industry, including the need for COVID-19 vaccinations, a necessary step before passenger travel can resume.
The new technical instructions, the first update since October, include increasing the weekly to daily reporting frequency of COVID-19 cases and illnesses and implementing routine testing of all crew members based on a ship’s COVID-19 status and drawing up a plan and timeline for the vaccination of crew and port personnel.
“COVID-19 vaccination efforts will be critical to the safe resumption of passenger operations,” said the CDC.
CDC said the next phase of the CDC’s conditional sailing assignment will include simulated voyages to enable crew and port personnel to practice new COVID-19 operational procedures with volunteers before sailing with passengers.
CDC is committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising when it is safe to do so, following the phased approach outlined “in October’s conditional sailing assignment,” the agency said.
It did not specify a date for the resumption of cruise operations from US ports, despite industry requests to schedule a phased resumption in early July. The CDC said it will provide additional guidance before cruises can resume.
The Cruise Lines International Association, which represents Carnival Corp, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises and others, had begged CDC to issue new guidelines. the largest cruise market in the world. “It did not immediately result in comment on Friday.
The group had said the earlier conditional sailing order issued in October was “out of date” and “does not reflect the proven progress and success of the industry in other parts of the world, nor the advent of vaccines, treating cruises unfairly differently.” Cruise lines should be treated the same as other travel, tourism, hospitality and entertainment sectors. “