COVID Cloud Hangs Over Cruise Ships Despite Precautions

Almost all cruise ships in US waters have recently reported Covid-19 cases among the crew or passengers despite precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus such as testing, vaccination and mask-wearing. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now advised tourists to avoid travelling by cruise ships, even if they have completed the full schedule of vaccination.

The health administrator has engendered 91 ships with a ‘yellow’ status and three with ‘orange’ status. These status updates clarify that there were recent cases of the coronavirus on board these vessels. The CDC has a mechanism to track ships planning to enter or operating in US waters.

Port Canaveral, which is considered to be among the busiest cruise ports in terms of passenger volume, has 10 ships, all of which are in yellow status.

Ships with a yellow status have recently reported at least 0.1 per cent of their passengers having Covid or Covid-like symptoms, prompting a CDC probe. This would mean five or more travellers on a ship with 5,000 people or three or more travellers on a ship with 3,000 people.

An orange status means even though there have been reports of Covid infections on board a ship, the number hasn’t crossed the threshold for a CDC probe.

A small number – just 16 ships – has a ‘green’ status, which shows that there have been no reports of Covid or Covid-like illness on board. The red status, on the other hand, means a ship has seen the transmission of Covid-19 or has the potential for Covid to overwhelm the onboard medical facilities. There are no ships with red status at the moment.

66 Passengers on Cruise Ship Test Positive

Almost 66 of the 2,000 guests on Cordelia, the cruise ship that had left for Mumbai and berthed in Goa were found to be Covid positive, according to health minister Vishwajit Rane. Samples from all passengers were tested following the contraction of the virus by a member of the crew.

Reference: yahoo.com