The cruise industry might have to wait a little longer to resume operations thanks to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On Wednesday, the CDC banned all cruising from U.S. ports are banned through Oct. 31st, most likely to climb in coronavirus numbers in the country. The White House’s opposition reportedly overruled the suspension.
What We Know:
- Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, the CDC issued a no-sail order for cruise ships in U.S. waters in mid-March after an outbreak of coronavirus cases and deaths plagued ships around the world. The CDC previously noted that the cruise industry is a significant contributor to the spread of coronavirus and the order is a justification of that fact.
- The CDC said in a statement late Wednesday that over 3,600 cases have been attributed to cruise ships in U.S. waters between the time range of March 1st and Sep. 29th. At least 40 Covid-19 deaths have occurred on cruise ships. Due to the uncertainty of some numbers, the CDC believes that the case and deaths could be “incomplete and an underestimate”.
- While announcing the extension, the CDC stated that “recent outbreaks on cruise ships overseas provide current evidence that cruise ship travel continues to transmit and amplify the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19”. They added that despite ships sailing at significantly reduced numbers, the virus still easily spread. Should operations prematurely resume, coronavirus could find itself back in U.S communities.
- According to Axios, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield was the one responsible for pushing the order to February 2021, but Vice President Mike Pence overruled Redfield and that the plan is to extend the ban until Oct. 31st, which happened to coincide with a suspension announced by the trade group the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Executives of the cruise companies and CLIA are expected to meet in the White House on Friday.
- Much like other industries, the pandemic has devastated cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Carnival Corp, and Norwegian Cruise Line. It’s reported that shares for these companies have fallen 50% since the start of the year.
- In an attempt to get the cruise industry bubbling again these companies have made an effort to polish a public health proposal, with panel health officials and top infectious disease specialists, to create a plan which will guarantee safety on cruise ships. This plan was released as a report of over 50 pages of recommendations to the CDC which includes testing, daily temperature checks, mask mandates, and more.
Given the steps taken by public health experts and apparent support from the Trump administration, we could see cruise liners take sail soon. Morningstar analyst Jaime Katz anticipates the ban to lift anywhere between November and January. She stated that “cruise lines were not planning to sail domestically until Nov. 1 anyway, so I don’t know that this really changes expectations”.
