The international cruise guild calls on the US to loosen restrictions
Miami, Apr 5 (EFE) .- The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) asked the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this Monday to lift the new "conditional navigation order" by the covid-19, in order to be able to resume cruise travel this summer.
"The additional instructions for the cruise industry issued on April 2 by the (CDC), within the Framework for Conditional Navigation (CSO), are disappointing," the CLIA said in a statement.
This association praised the "important advances made in the US", which are, he said, a "model for others" in the fight with the coronavirus, but pointed out that the "new requirements are excessively onerous and, to a large extent, unfeasible. ".
The CDC recently updated the measures that govern the pandemic for cruises from US ports, but maintained the recommendation to the population not to embark for pleasure.
This is a new phase of the Framework of the Conditional Navigation Order in force since October 30, according to the CDC, a government entity that has received numerous requests to loosen the restrictions imposed on the cruise industry due to the pandemic, especially from Florida.
For the CLIA, these requirements "appear to reflect a zero risk objective" rather than using a "mitigation approach" to covid-19, which is the foundation for all other sectors of our society, they said.
This union understands that the effect of these "new mandates" means that "almost half a million Americans, from stevedores and ground transportation operators to hotels, restaurants and retail workers and travel agents, continue to suffer financially" as a reasonable time for the safe return of the cruise ".
In the opinion of this association, the instructions of the CDC "are in disagreement" with the approach that this same organism and the governments of other parts of the world apply to all other segments of travel and tourism to mitigate the risk of contagion.
Therefore, he urges the Administration to consider the "ample evidence supporting the lifting of the CSO" this month and thus allow "the planning of a controlled return to service this summer."
They further disagreed that on the same day that the CDC issued new "burdensome requirements" for the cruise industry, this institution published a "relaxed guide for domestic and international travel" due to progress in vaccination and recognition of improvements in public health.
Apart from the CDC order, several cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, based in Miami, announced that they will resume their trips this summer from ports in other countries such as the Bahamas and Bermuda, with restrictions and measures such as that all passengers older than 18 years must be vaccinated before boarding.
