No Cruise Ships To Sail Until October – Center for Disease Control(CDC)

Center for Disease Control(CDC), which is under the US government, announced on Thursday that the No Sail Order would be extended for cruise ships.

As per the announcement, the order has now been extended till September 30 and could be extended even more until the pandemic situation normalizes in the US.

Originally, the first No Sail Order came into effect from March 14, when the US saw an exponential increase in COVID-19 cases.

Representation Image – Credits: Sudhai Hazell

CDC data has shown that since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the cruising industry, 2,973 COVID-19 cases have been found onboard various cruise ships operating out of US ports. Out of these, there were reportedly 34 COVID related deaths onboard. This understanding was sharply based on the data collected from various cruise ships from March 1 to July 10.

However, the numbers do not include Diamond Princess, which has a record number of 700 cases and at least 9 deaths onboard.

The March 14 No Sail Order would’ve got over on July 24. The new order extended it till September end.

The overview released by CDC reads,”80% of ships within US jurisdiction were affected by Covid-19 during this timeframe.”

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the cruising body which constitutes over 95% of the cruise industry traffic, had previously suspended all cruise operations via US ports till September 15.

It is increasingly evident that extra time will be required for the cruise industry for the resumption of its operations.

Reference: usatoday.com

Source: Maritime Shipping News