After a year of paralysis linked to the pandemic, cruises could resume in Florida as early as mid-July, according to a letter sent Wednesday by US health authorities.
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Boats will be allowed to sail if they certify that 98% of their crew and 85% of passengers are vaccinated, according to a letter, obtained by AFP, the Centers for the Prevention and Fight against Diseases (CDC), main federal public health agency in the country.
If these conditions are met, ships will not have to require PCR testing for crew and tourists, but simply antigen testing before boarding, health officials said.
They also ask companies to send their travel itineraries as quickly as possible
"in order to guarantee a return schedule for cruises with passengers around mid-July"
.
Good news
Good news for cruise giants including Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, headquartered in Florida. Norwegian Cruise Line thus told AFP that the company was
"encouraged by the constructive dialogue underway"
, while Royal Caribbean welcomed
"the taking into account of recent advances in vaccination and medicine"
. Confirming receipt of the letter, Carnival Company said it was in the process of evaluating these new guidelines. Norwegian Cruise Line had previously indicated that it would make vaccination compulsory on its ships from July 4.
The cruise industry employs thousands of people in Florida, a southern state in the United States whose economy is heavily dependent on tourism. In April, Florida, led by Republican Ron DeSantis, also sued the US federal government to demand the resumption of cruises, suspended by the CDC since March 2020 in order to stem the spread of the virus.
