On Saturday, March 7, representatives from CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) and major cruise lines met with VP Mike Pence and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf in order to coordinate the industry’s response to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Following the meeting, CLIA reported that the organization and its member lines had committed to "more stringent boarding procedures, additional onboard medical resources and temperature screenings at embarkation." Additionally, the cruise industry would also "develop industry-funded protocols to care for guests on land in the event of an incident."
Importantly, CLIA said that would "eliminate future incidents of onboard quarantine." Details on the plan should come this week.
Image: Port of Wuhan (China, Yangtze River)
Shortly after the meeting, the US State Department updated the travel advisory regarding the Coronavirus to include cruise travel, saying that “U.S. citizens, particularly travellers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship.”
The Department warned that Americans travelling overseas should not rely on US government repatriation flights in the event of a quarantine.
For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.