Earlier this month the BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA), announced a June,2021 cruise port reopening with Government’s approval. The announcement stated that cruise vessels with fully vaccinated passengers and crew can visit the territory, providing that they can meet testing, pre-screening embarkation measures upon arrival.
However, despite increasing pressure from the cruise industry and its allies in government across the world, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plans to prevent cruises from U.S. ports for the foreseeable future.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and the cruise industry lobbying group CLIA are pressuring the CDC to allow U.S. cruises as soon as July 1. But the agency is not budging on its “conditional sail order,” which gives cruise companies a long list of requirements they must meet before being allowed to restart.
The government officials say the conditional sail order, first issued by the CDC in October and in place until November 2021, is outdated and unnecessary now that several COVID-19 vaccines are available.
When questioned on whether the BVI is still moving forward with a June reopening in light of the new developments, Premier of the Virgin Islands and Minister of Finance, Honorable Andrew Fahie said “In any initiative the Government of the Virgin Islands engages to further strengthen our economy during this Covid-19 era is always balanced against safety first. In this vein all ongoing discussions and actions in this respect are targeted in that direction. We will continue to keep everyone informed.”
Earlier this month, CDC spokesperson Caitlin Shockey said a majority, but not all, of the six cruise companies with ships in U.S. waters had complied with the first phase of the order: Test all crew members for COVID-19 weekly and report results to the agency.
In response to Cruise Lines International Association’s public demands Thursday that the conditional sail order be lifted, Shockey said the order remains in effect.
“On October 30, 2020, CDC issued Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) that remains in effect until November 1, 2021,” she said in an email. “Returning to passenger cruising is a phased approach to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19. Details for the next phase of the CSO are currently under interagency review.”
The CDC first banned cruises in U.S. waters in March 2020 amid COVID-19 outbreaks on multiple ships. After extensive lobbying from the industry, it lifted its no-sail order on October 30, replacing it with the conditional sail order. In November, the CDC added instructions for lab testing, and in December it expanded the list of tests cruise companies can use.
Since then, crew members have continued to test positive for the virus at sea. Thirty-three cruise ships in U.S. waters have reported crew members testing positive for COVID-19 or having COVID-like illness (clinically compatible without laboratory confirmation) since the start of the year, according to CDC documents obtained by the Herald.
In a statement Thursday, CLIA, the cruise industry’s lobbying group, urged the CDC to allow cruising by July, noting that cruises have long resumed in other parts of the world including Singapore, China and Italy, hosting nearly 400,000 passengers since the pandemic began with minimal COVID-19 outbreaks.
“This is a testament to the industry’s unparalleled expertise, gained over more than half a century, in coordinating movements of guests and crew, efficiently organizing complex embarkations and excursions, and designing vessels that are more technologically advanced and operationally agile than any other mode of transportation,” said Kelly Craighead, the group’s CEO, in a statement.