On the heels of extending the No Sail Order for cruise ships
until Sept. 30,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put out a request for
public input on the resumption of sailings.
The CDC said the input may be used to inform guidance and
preventative measures related to cruise travel.
The 28 questions may be indicative of some of the
restrictions the CDC might be considering, such as should cruise ship operators
limit shore excursions; should cruise ship operators decrease the length of
voyages and, if so, by how much; and several questions about reducing capacity,
cabin occupancy and whether crew members should be provided single-occupancy
rooms.
The questions are as broad as asking what steps cruise lines
should take to prevent the introduction of Covid-19 on ships and as specific as
whether specimens should be tested onboard or onshore.
Comments, accepted until Sept. 21, will be published in the
Federal Register and part of the public record.
CLIA said last week that the CDC had signaled a willingness
to starting meaningful dialogue with the agency about the resumption of
sailings and that its previous engagement with the CDC had been focused mostly
on the health and repatriation of crew members who were still aboard ships in
U.S. waters.