US CDC warns against cruise ship travel 'even if vaccinated' amid Omicron surge

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] has warned against any cruise travel even if one is fully vaccinated against coronavirus as the risk level of the travel was increased to the highest from Level 3 to Level 4. The guideline is issues based on the “increases in [Omicron] cases onboard cruise ships since the identification of the B.1.1.529 variant," the CDC website stressed. The risk of contracting the COVID-19 onboard cruises is "very high” even for those that have received the two-dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC warns. 

"Since the identification of the Omicron variant, there has been an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among cruise passengers and crew reported to CDC,” the agency website said in its guidelines. “Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of cruise ships meeting the COVID-19 case threshold for CDC investigation,” it added, as it forbade people to travel onboard a cruise at this time. 

Just 16 ships green with 'no COVID cases' globally

US CDC also created a colour status classification for cruise ships worldwide basis the level of risk each country’s cruise travel faces. At least 91 ships were highlighted in the yellow category which implied that the reported COVID-19 cases met the CDC's threshold for investigation but no cruise was listed as red, indicating that reported infections were not at or above the threshold for investigation. As of yesterday, three ships were listed as orange meaning that the COVID-19 cases were below the CDC’s threshold for investigation. Just sixteen ships were listed as green, which implied that there were no reported cases of the COVID-19 on those cruises just as yet. 

As CDC prohibited the vaccinated people worldwide from travelling on a cruise, the Cruise Lines International Association, a trade association, expressed discontentment over the advisory citing the loss of business once again since the pandemic hit. The cruise travel industry had remained as one of the most severely impacted since the pandemic has hit and had recently picked up on the road to economical and financial recovery. Cruise operations resumed after more than a year and the industry was one of the most severely hit, worse than the international air travel as it had come to a standstill with cruises worldwide anchored at the ports. 

"The decision by the CDC to raise the travel level for the cruise is particularly perplexing considering that cases identified on cruise ships consistently make up a very slim minority of the total population onboard -- far fewer than on land -- and the majority of those cases are asymptomatic or mild in nature, posing little to no burden on medical resources onboard or onshore," CLIA said in a statement, expressing disappointment.

Furthermore, the association insisted that the "cruise ships offer a highly controlled environment with science-backed measures, known testing and vaccination levels far above other venues or modes of transportation and travel, and significantly lower incidence rates than land.”The United States has turned away at least 4 cruise ships at the ports and had prohibited the cruise passengers from disembarking inside the Americas this week over the threat of the Omicron cluster outbreak. US Travel Association expressed frustration at the new measures and guidelines.

"The US Travel Association sincerely hopes today's CDC advisory singling out recreational cruise travel -- enacted despite the sector's robust health practices and high rate (95%) of onboard vaccination -- is brief and temporary," a statement from the association's executive vice president of public affairs and policy, Tori Emerson, obtained by the CNN Travel on Saturday read. 

Isolation, other measures if you get on the cruise anyway

While the US CDC has strictly made clear to  "avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status,” people still deciding to take a cruise trip should make sure that they are not only fully vaccinated with the two-dose regime of the vaccine but also boosted. At least one to three days before the cruise travel, people are asked to ensure that they get tested for the COVID-19. While the unvaccinated are required to self-quarantine for five days after the forbidden travel. Inside the cruise, one is expected to wear an N95 or equivalent mask at all times. In compliance with the CDC Conditional Sailing Order, the staff operating inside the cruise must be mandatorily vaccinated. Pre-departure testing regardless of the vaccination status is also needed before the journey. 

Image: AP