By Tim Fitzsimons -
NBC News
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an advisory on Thursday urging all travelers - vaccinated and unvaccinated - to avoid cruise travel in the face of the record wave of COVID-19 driven by the omicron variant.
"Even fully vaccinated travelers can be at risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 variants," the CDC said in a bulletin raising the risk level from high to very high (the maximum) for "increased the cases on board the cruise ships from the identification of the omicron variant ”.
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"It is especially important that travelers who are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 avoid traveling on cruise ships, including riverine, around the world, regardless of vaccination status," he added.
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The airline sector continues to suffer setbacks due to the omicron variant, as the wave of infections has cut the available staff and forced the cancellation of thousands of flights.
JetBlue said Wednesday that it would "proactively" cancel flights until January 13 to anticipate the expected staff shortage due to the wave of infections in New York City.
The CDC warning for cruise ships comes as the sector was recovering thanks to vaccines from the shutdown for months decreed after the start of the pandemic.
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More than 800 people tested positive and 10 died in 2020 aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess and Grand Princess cruise ships.
After ships and tourists returned to the seas in 2021, new policies were introduced in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus on board: mandatory vaccinations, negative tests, and even daily PCR tests for all passengers.
