Avoid cruises as Omicron cases increase, says the US CDC

December 30 (Reuters) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people should avoid traveling on cruise ships regardless of vaccination status, as daily COVID-19 cases in the country climb to record highs due to the rapid spread of Omicron variant .

The move is another blow to the cruise industry, which had just begun returning to the sea in June after a month-long suspension of travel caused by the pandemic.

On Thursday, the CDC raised its COVID-19 travel health warning for cruise ships to its highest warning level, citing reports of COVID-19 outbreaks on cruises.

The health agency has investigated and is still investigating covid-19 cases on more than 90 ships. It will start an investigation if 0.10% or more passengers on guest trips test positive for covid-19.

Shares in Carnival Corp (CCL.N), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH.N) and Royal Caribbean Group (RCL.N) turned the price to fall around 1% after the travel advice from CDC.

“The CDC’s decision to raise the cruise level for cruises is particularly confusing given that cases identified on cruise ships consistently make up a very slim minority of the total population on board,” said the Cruise Lines International Association.

Norwegian Cruise meanwhile said that they believed that guests on their ships were better protected against incurring covid-19 than in any other general population.

The company and Carnival said the CDC’s decision had not affected planned itineraries.

The CDC said that passengers already on cruise ships should be tested three to five days after the voyage ends, and self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days.

The Omicron variant also continued to affect flights. The total number of flight cancellations within, into or out of the United States was more than 1,180, with over 10,300 flights delayed from 14:37 ET, data from the flight tracking website FlightAware.com showed.

Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing Aditya Soni and Shinjini Ganguli

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