The ban on cruise liners operating around Australia was extended by another 3 months (through March 17, 2021).
In March, the Federal Government of Australia imposed a ban on both international and domestic cruises which was due to be lifted on December 17.
The industry recently launched a campaign to convince the Australian government to allow domestic trips. However, cruise vacations have been deemed too high-risk to resume.
The cruise industry is worth US$5 billion, employs 25,000 people in Australia, and tens of thousands more worldwide.
The largest COVID outbreak in NSW was linked to Princess Cruises' Ruby Princess ship, which saw around 900 infections and a total of 28 deaths.
In Japan, hundreds of people contracted Coronavirus on Diamond Princess and passengers and crew members were quarantined onboard.