Despite COVID Resurgence... US Cruise Industry Says "No Shutdown"

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Although the resurgence of COVID-19 is becoming severe in the United States, reports indicate that the cruise industry is not considering suspending operations.

According to the Washington Post (WP) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the 28th (local time), COVID-19 infection cases have been reported on 86 cruise ships operating with passengers in U.S. waters as of that day.

As a result, passengers were quarantined in their cabins or denied entry to ports, and some voices in the political sphere called for suspension of operations; however, it has been reported that there are no signs of a large-scale suspension of operations actually being implemented.

Unlike early last year when cruise operations were completely halted worldwide, this is because much of the reality of COVID-19 has been revealed, and testing kits, vaccines, and infection prevention measures are well established.

A spokesperson for the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said, "Industry measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 include medical provision, contact tracing, and isolation of suspected cases."

Accordingly, U.S. health authorities resumed cruise operations in June this year under the condition of implementing strengthened quarantine measures, and it is known that no additional regulations will be introduced after the conditional approval expires on the 15th of next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.