CDC Cruise Ship Guidance Becomes Optional

(CNN) — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid-19 guidelines will soon become optional for many cruise ships.

Green, orange, yellow and red designations indicate a ship’s Covid situation from best to worst. A gray designation is reserved for ships that the CDC has not assessed for Covid safety.

During a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski asked about the CDC’s injunction on behalf of companies counting on the upcoming summer tourism.

“I think the conditional sail order and the fact that the industry has stepped up and is now interested in doing and exceeding, as you know, compliance with the sail order without the order even being necessary, is a real proof of how well that has worked,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

She also noted that the CDC has seen “a 30fold increase in cases on ships during this season due to Omicron” in the past two weeks.

“What I can’t predict is what the summer will bring,” Walensky added.

Cruise lines can refuse to participate

As of Jan. 15, joining the CDC program is voluntary, the agency confirmed on Thursday. The ships that choose not to participate are marked in gray.

The voluntary program applies only to ships sailing in US waters and on international routes. Cruise ships that only operate in US waters and choose not to participate will not be included in the color status list.

The cruise ships that choose to participate in the program “agreed to follow all of CDC’s recommendations and guidelines as part of this program,” the agency said. “These recommendations are aimed at reducing the introduction and spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.”

Industry group Cruise Lines International Association said the CDC’s move to a voluntary program “recognises the cruise industry’s unwavering commitment to provide some of the highest levels of Covid-19 mitigation found in any industry. “

CLIA’s statement says the cruise industry is the only segment in travel and tourism that requires high levels of vaccination of passengers and crew before boarding and testing for 100% of passengers.

CDC rules under the Conditional Sail Order require 95% of both passengers and crew to be fully vaccinated to sail in most conditions, and some cruise lines have required vaccination for all passengers and crew.

Information about the voluntary program has been sent to the cruise industry, the CDC said, and more information will be released when the conditional sailing order expires.

The agency is anticipating decisions about joining cruise ships in the coming week.

Top image: Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas departs Port Canaveral, Florida, on January 11, 2021.