Cruise ships worldwide with more than 250 people will test all passengers, crew for COVID-19

Cruise ships worldwide with more than 250 people will test all passengers, crew for COVID-19
Morgan Hines 6 October 2020 https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2020/10/06/cruise-industry...

Cruise lines around the world have committed to testing every passenger and crew member for COVID-19 before boarding, the industry's leading trade group, Cruise Lines International Association, said Tuesday.

"CLIA ocean cruise line members worldwide have agreed to conduct 100% testing of passengers and crew on all ships with a capacity to carry 250 or more persons – with a negative test required for any embarkation," Bari Golin-Blaugrund, vice president of strategic communications for Cruise Lines International Association, told USA TODAY in a statement.

"The global policy applies to ships capable of carrying 250 or more people, which is consistent with the policy in place as it relates to ships sailing from U.S. ports," Golin-Blaugrund said.

The CDC's "no-sail" order bars ships that can carry at least 250 passengers from cruising in U.S. waters until Nov. 1. The testing requirement is "effective immediately worldwide," Golin-Blaugrund said.

CLIA's member lines carry 95% of the world's oceangoing cruisers.

The cruise industry is the first in the travel and tourism sector to commit to worldwide pre-embarkation testing of all passengers and crew. Several airlines have announced testing initiatives, but not on an industry-wide basis.