CDC Extends the Conditional Sailing Order Until January

Federal health officials on Monday announced the extension of the conditional sailing order. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the extension will last through January 15. However, the conditional sailing order will go with a few “minor modifications”. After January 15, the agency mentioned that it is going to “transition to a voluntary program”.

Captain Aimee Treffiletti of CDC’s maritime unit said that the extension was “in the best interest of public health”. Treffiletti said that “The pandemic isn’t over. We’ve seen what the delta variant can do”.

According to the CDC, cruise operators came up with their own health and safety protocols since the pandemic started. Some cruises required vaccination for both passengers and employees. And recently, some cruises also require testing a few days before boarding the ship.

Cruise Lines International Association pledged to continue working with the agency. According to Laziza Lambert, spokesperson for the Cruise Lines International Association, “Cruising has successfully resumed in the United States” using measures that lessened the risks for both crew members and passengers.

She also added that the extension was proof that the agency and the Biden administration “recognize the cruise industry’s successful resumption of operations”.

The CDC first came up with a no-sail order in March 2020 when the pandemic broke out. The conditional sailing order was announced later in October 2020 as a phased approach to the resumption of cruising in the US.

The Conditional Sailing Order Helped Mitigate Risks

Cruises had two options to restart operations. First, cruise operators need to meet the 95% vaccination threshold for both passengers and crew. Next, if the cruise operator couldn’t meet the vaccination threshold, it has the option to conduct a simulated voyage using volunteer passengers. The simulated voyage was designed to test COVID19 protocols and earn the approval of the CDC to sail.

Treffiletti said that “We never expected that there would be zero risk of transmission”. However, she added that “But one thing that’s really important is that we haven’t seen medical resources overwhelmed on ships”.

In August, CDC issued a “Level 3: High Level of COVID19” notice for the cruise industry.