As of January 6, 2022, Coronavirus cases have been reported on every cruise ship sailing with passengers in U.S. waters.
All 92 ships have at least .1% of passengers testing positive, according to the CDC, which has either started an investigation or has already investigated and is observing each ship. The number of ships under investigation has increased rapidly, The Washington Post reported.
In the last week of 2021, the CDC warned all travelers, including vaccinated people, to avoid cruise ships after COVID-19 cases on cruise ships jumped from 162 during the first 2 weeks of December to more than 5,000 cases during the last 2 weeks of December. The CDC moved cruise ship travel to Level 4, the highest level of risk. “The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads easily between people in close quarters on board ships, and the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if you are fully vaccinated and have received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose,” the CDC said in updated guidance.
The CDC issued a conditional sail order in October of 2021 for the cruise ships which intends to help keep passengers and crew alive and healthy. That sail order is set to expire on January 15 2022 at the height of the Omicron surge.
Cruise ship companies have been ignoring the CDC’s warnings and conducting business as usual. Disney’s Wonder cruise ship and Carnival’s Vista are set to sail out of Galveston this month with thousands of passengers on board. Social distancing does not exist on a cruise ship.
Cruise lines are requiring all crew and most, if not all, passengers to be fully vaccinated to board. Passengers also need proof of a recent negative test. Norwegian Cruise line and Royal Caribbean have reported cases on their ships and have updated masking requirements as a response. People on board simply ignore the masking requirements.
Several cruise ships have been turned away from ports since late December 2021 due to passengers or crew members testing positive. Most continued their trips but skipped the stops where they were turned away.
The CDC will “consider multiple factors” and work with the cruise lines before moving ships from the current “yellow” status to the more serious “red” status that requires ships to return to port or delay sailing, Caitlin Shockey, a CDC spokeswoman told the Post. To reach the red status, a ship must have ongoing COVID-19 transmission and the potential for cases to overwhelm medical resources on the ship.
Far greater than the COVID-19 pandemic is the pandemic of stupidity.