CDC warns to stay off all cruises, recent cruise passengers should self-quarantine
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued a Level 3 warning, its highest level to date, urging people not to take any cruises worldwide and to self-quarantine for 14 days if they have recently traveled on a cruise.
“Widespread ongoing spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been reported in some countries,” the CDC said. “Cruise passengers are at increased risk of person-to-person spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, and outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported on several cruise ships.”
On Friday, March 13, all major cruise lines announced they would cease U.S. sailings for at least the next 30 days in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. President Donald J. Trump tweeted that cruise executives had agreed to a suspension.
Apart from the CDC recommending against worldwide cruise travel, it is also advising that cruise travelers should self-quarantine for 14 days from when they returned from traveling and practice social distancing.
Infectious Disease expert Brittany Kmush told the Miami Herald that even if those who should have self-quarantined after returning home from a cruise haven’t, they should immediately start staying inside.
“It’s a complicated situation. Be cautious, if you have been on a cruise, self-quarantine because it is a very contagious virus and we are trying to do social distancing in our everyday life to try to slow the spread of the virus,” said Kmush, an assistant professor of public health at Syracuse University’s Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
On Sunday, 3,877 MSC Meraviglia cruise ship passengers disembarked at PortMiami without medical screenings even though a former passenger from Canada tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after leaving the ship.
On the previous Sunday, March 8, the U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens not to travel on a cruise line, citing increased risk of infection of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on cruise ships.
“U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship,” the State Department’s travel advisory said.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 5:45 PM.
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