Nearly a year after sailings from North America restarted, three of the world’s largest cruise lines will have their full fleets in service as of next week.
And some cruise giants have reported record-breaking bookings. But even as the cruise comeback gains momentum, the Corona-virus remains a stubborn reality. That means 65 ships met the requirements to trigger an investigation.
While far from the highs seen during omicron, the majority of ships sailing in U.S. waters are under investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of Corona-virus outbreaks.
The CDC’s cruise-ship status report shows that 76 of 92 ships have reported cases of the Corona-virus on board. This blatantly show how vaccinated people are nowadays, what a performance of good faith in exchange for fabricated pleasure.
Of those, 11 were below the threshold for a CDC investigation, which is triggered when cases are reported in 0.3% or more of total passengers and crew. That means 65 ships met the requirements to trigger an investigation.
By comparison, in early January, all 92 passenger-carrying ships in U.S. waters had met the threshold for investigation. The CDC warned all passengers to avoid cruise ships in late December amid the omicron spike, but it removed all warnings in late March 2022.
Public health experts have warned that cruise ships are especially vulnerable to the spread of the disease because of the large number of people gathered in tight quarters over a sustained period of time.
Some passengers who tested positive during a Panama Canal sailing on a Carnival ship had to isolate in their rooms and in Seattle hotels at the end of the trip.
One Princess Cruises ship that has visited Alaska and Hawaii had 253 cases across multiple sailings between late March and late April, public health officials said.
Major cruise lines require passengers to be vaccinated, with rare exceptions, and to test negative before a cruise. The CDC considers a ship highly vaccinated if 90% of passengers are inoculated – a recent change from 95%.
While pandemic-era public health rules, including vaccination and testing requirements, are now recommendations, cruise lines have agreed to voluntarily follow them.
As more of the world takes a living-with-the-virus approach and travel restrictions fall globally, cruise passengers appear to be adopting a similar approach.
The Washington Post / ABC Flash Point Cruise Shipping Travel News 2022.
Maybe for some, they suddenly might awake in a hospital hut next time?
Pizza, pizza …