Federal Appeals Court Blocks CDC’s COVID Restrictions in Florida

There is an ongoing lawsuit between Florida and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the health agency from imposing COVID restrictions on cruise ships in Florida.

State attorneys argued that the restrictions by the CDC made it hard for the industry to recover. However, this decision only applies to ships in Florida’s ports.

Earlier Friday, Florida lawyers also appealed to the US Supreme Court to block CDC’s COVID restrictions. This request is most likely going to be pulled out as the appeals court already gave Florida what it wanted.

CDC’s COVID Restrictions

CDC’s COVID restrictions will only allow cruise ships to operate if they can meet the vaccination threshold. It means that 95% of passengers and crew members should have completed their COVID vaccine dose. If not, cruises will have to run test voyages using non-paying passengers. Then, there are the other requirements such as establishing housing for quarantining passengers and testing labs.

No Support from the Cruise Industry

Governor Ron DeSantis wants fewer COVID restrictions for the cruise industry. According to Florida, “The CDC’s order is manifestly beyond its authority”. The state also said that federal law “does not permit the agency to remake the entire cruise ship industry”.

The federal government believes that the rules are necessary to prevent the spread of COVID19. According to the federal government, “These experiences demonstrated that cruise ships are uniquely suited to spread COVID19, likely due to their close quarters for passengers and crew for prolonged periods”.

Is it a good move to have fewer restrictions? Despite the safety measures, there were still cases where crew members and passengers tested positive on cruises. America Cruise Lines’ American Constellation canceled their trip because of three positive cases on board.

The cruise industry did not support Florida’s lawsuit against the CDC. Many are even struggling with the anti-vaccine passport law in the state of Florida. Under Florida’s anti-vaccine passport law, it prevents businesses from asking about the vaccination status of their employees and their customers.