The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning people against taking cruises, regardless of vaccination status. According to CNBC, cruise ships in U.S. waters reported around 5,000 cases of Covid-19 in the last two weeks of December, compared to only 162 cases in the first two weeks.
The CDC said the virus that causes Covid-19 “spreads easily between people in close quarters on board ships, and the chance of getting Covid-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if you are fully vaccinated and have received a … vaccine booster dose.”
Global cruise industry body Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said the decision by the CDC was “perplexing considering that cases identified on cruise ships consistently make up a very slim minority of the total population onboard, and far fewer than that on land.”
“It is also the case that cruise provides one of the highest levels of demonstrated mitigation against the virus. Cruise ships offer a highly controlled environment with science-backed measures, known testing and vaccination levels far above other venues or modes of transportation and travel, and significantly lower incidence rates than land,” it argued.
“While we are disappointed and disagree with the decision to single out the cruise industry—an industry that continues to go above and beyond compared to other sectors—CLIA and our ocean-going cruise line members remain committed to working collaboratively with the CDC in the interest of public health and safety.”
Meanwhile, Genting Hong Kong’s cruise ship business has almost reached a standstill except for so-called “cruises to nowhere.” The company said the delta and omicron variants of Covid-19 have inhibited its recovery and caused it to risk breaching minimum liquidity requirements.
