INTERNATIONAL CRUISE VICTIMS CALL FOR CDC TO EXTEND NO SAIL ORDER INDEFINITELY

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- INTERNATIONAL CRUISE VICTIMS CALL FOR CDC TO EXTEND NO SAIL ORDER INDEFINITELY

International Cruise Victims, Inc. (ICV) today calls on the Centers for Disease Control to extend its “no sail” order barring cruises carrying over 250 passengers from U.S. ports. While the order is currently set to expire on October 31st such an extension is unquestionably necessary in order to protect the public from the actions of the cruise industry which was responsible for multiple COVID-19 outbreaks earlier this year. Reports indicate that the White House overruled the CDC’s recommendation to extend the no sail into next year.

“As watchdogs for an industry that has too often gone unregulated and unchecked, once again we see that the cruise lines’ priorities are in conflict with the health and safety of the public,” said Jamie Barnett, president of ICV. “Their attempts to rewrite history and proclaim that they were unaware of the pandemic, while allowing cruises to embark as public health authorities warned otherwise, raises questions as to whether restarting cruising should be a priority while COVID-19 continues to rage across large parts of the world.”

Since the beginning of this public health crisis, the cruise industry has become a symbol of the pandemic, knowingly contributing to the deadly spread of COVID-19. In February, Carnival’s Diamond Princess was the host of more than 700 infections leading to 13 deaths. Despite this ordeal that trapped passengers and had them comparing the ship to a gas chamber, cruise ships kept packing more passengers aboard. Days after the Diamond Princess was evacuated, Carnival’s Grand Princess sailed from San Francisco causing at least another seven deaths. Ten more people died aboard the Ruby Princess – which was the source of one of the largest outbreaks in Australia.

While the industry proclaims they have new protocols in place to stop infections, earlier this month a river cruise in Europe saw 60 of the 92 passengers onboard contract COVID. According to the CDC, “the dynamics of passenger-to-passenger, passenger-to-crew, crew-to-passenger, and crew-to-crew intermingling in a semi-closed setting are particularly conducive to SARS-CoV-2 spread, resulting in high transmission rates.”

“Cruises and COVID-19 are not compatible, and no amount of lip-service or public relations will fix this fact. Cruise lines have yet to make amends for the havoc they caused just seven months ago in spreading the virus. When it comes to putting passenger and crew health and safety first, the cruise industry simply cannot be taken at their word,” said Jamie Barnett in a statement that echoed the sentiments of many within the network of cruise activists.

Jamie Barnett
International Cruise Victims, INC.
+1 818-355-6462
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