01/03/2022
Let the Truth be Told~
The CDC and media outlets are attacking cruise industry again. As someone in the travel sector with access to the facts I share the following with you:
* More than 100 cruise ships have returned to U.S. waters (even more worldwide), carrying nearly 1 million people since June 2021.
* The cruise industry is the only industry in the U.S. travel and tourism sector (hello, airlines?) that is requiring both vaccinations and testing for crew and guests. Cruising is the only industry monitored in this way -- under super-strict requirements -- which is why you hear more about cruises.
* According to the CDC’s system, a cruise ship triggers CDC observation when reaching a threshold of 0.10 percent of passengers (i.e., 7 out of 6,500) testing positive in the last seven days, or if even just one crew member tests positive.
* In the U.S. alone, the cruise industry administers nearly 10 million tests per week — 21x the rate of overall U.S. testing.
* The latest data show that, even with higher rates of testing, the cruise industry continues to achieve significantly lower rates of occurrence of COVID-19 — 33 percent less than onshore.
* The majority of Covid cases identified on cruise ships are asymptomatic or mild in nature, posing little to no burden on medical resources onboard or onshore. Vaccination rates onboard a cruise ship are upwards of 95 percent — significantly higher than the overall U.S. population of about 62 percent.
* No setting can be immune from this virus — however, cruise ships offer a highly controlled environment with unique science-backed measures, known testing and vaccination levels far above other venues or modes of transportation and travel, and significantly lower incidence rates than land. These protocols encompass the entirety of the cruise experience, incorporating testing, vaccination, screening, sanitation, mask-wearing and other science-backed measures.
Thank you Christy Newsom Scannell - original post
