More than 70 cruise ship outbreaks were reported, and the US CDC intervened to investigate

Over the Christmas weekend, with the surge in infections in Omicron, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Monday (27th) that more than 70 cruise ships were being investigated after receiving reports of new coronavirus infection cases on board. At least four ocean-going cruise ships have been denied a call at the port this week or tourists have been barred from disembarking.

Russian Satellite News Agency reported with image

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According to the latest investigation form published on the CDC website, according to the color marking, cruise ships are divided into no infection cases at all, cases but do not need to be investigated, and cases need to be investigated, of which 68 ships have reached the CDC's investigation threshold.

In this table, most of the vessels that have reported cases of infection belong to Fiesta Cruises, with 40 vessels, which CDC has begun investigating. It was followed by Royal Caribbean International Cruises, with 33 cases of infection on 33 vessels.

Last week, the Symphony of the Seas and the Odyssey of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean International Cruises, reported that dozens of people who had tested positive for COVID-19 were found among its vaccinated crew and passengers. According to the cruise line operating at the Florida port, early detection should limit the spread of the virus, and other passengers can almost continue to enjoy normal travel.

According to US media reports, since the resumption of cruise service in the United States this summer and the adoption of vaccine requirements and other precautions to prevent the outbreak of the epidemic, there have also been cases of infection on other cruise ships, and the number of cruise ships forced to change their itineraries has increased.

The current cruise ship delays are still far from March 2020, when the industry completely shut down operations due to the pandemic, ports refused to dock COVID-19-affected vessels, and passengers and crew members took weeks to get ashore and go home.

To avoid a recurrence of such a situation, the cruise line has developed a number of onboard health and safety measures under the Conditional Navigation Framework (CSO) issued by the CDC, which have been revised as the situation has changed.

Today, both crew and passengers need to be vaccinated. Before boarding the ship, most cruise lines require passengers to have a negative COVID-19 test result, and their crew must also be tested regularly.

On cruise ships departing from the United States, masks are also required in public areas. The rule was recently revised to require fully vaccinated travelers to wear masks indoors as well. (Editor: SDY)