The USA's agency CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) discontinued a program that tracked cases of COVID aboard cruise vessels in the United States and reported the findings to the public.
CDC's "COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships" was officially terminated on Monday, August 15, the government agency announced on its website.
"CDC will continue to publish guidance to help cruise ships continue to provide a safer and healthier environment for passengers, crew and communities going forward."
For 2 years, the CDC monitored COVID outbreaks on cruise ships, using a color-coded chart in order to show different levels of transmission. Cruise companies that opted into the program had agreed to follow all of the agency's guidance and recommendations.
Some of the early COVID outbreaks took place on cruise ships, where Coronavirus cases spread rapidly among passengers. Cruise lines were among the most severely affected businesses during the crisis when social distancing was the major measure used to contain COVID.
The number of people booking cruise ship vacations plummeted over the past 2 years. In 2020-2021, cruise companies lost a collective USD 63 billion and shed thousands of jobs, industry data showed.