Congress Investigates Cruises as Coronavirus Super Spreaders

December 21, 2020 by Tom Ramstack
Congress Investigates Cruises as Coronavirus Super Spreaders

WASHINGTON — A congressional committee is pressuring the Centers for Disease Control to deliver more information on the role of cruise ships in spreading coronavirus.

Cruise operators like Carnival Corp. are accused of marketing their tourist ships as being safe despite growing evidence they turned into super spreaders for accelerating the pandemic.

Congress is investigating reports that more than 1,500 COVID-19 cases have erupted aboard the company’s ships, causing dozens of passenger and crew member deaths.

The result has been lawsuits, interrupted travel schedules not expected to resume before late spring 2021, financial disaster for the cruise lines and now impatient members of Congress.

“The documents are a key part of the Committee’s ongoing oversight efforts regarding the actions taken by both the Carnival Corporation and the CDC in response to the threat of COVID-19 on cruise ships,” leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said in a statement.

Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., wrote a letter to the CDC in May asking for documents that might show whether Carnival knew the risks of continuing their tourist cruises. He wrote a second letter last week expressing annoyance over a slow response.

The documents the committee seeks reflect its “concern that Carnival and its nine affiliated cruise lines were ignoring the public health threat of the pandemic in its public-facing marketing materials,” the lawmakers’ statement says.

The most recent letter also was addressed to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is participating in the investigation of cruise lines.

Adding to the congressmen’s fervor is a death toll and infection rate from COVID-19 hitting records almost daily. There were more than 17.3 million infections reported in the United States by Friday afternoon with more than 311,000 deaths.

For the cruise line industry, they have either chosen, or been ordered by government regulators, to cease operations until the pandemic subsides.

The CDC issued a “Framework for Conditional Sailing Order” in October that requires a phased approach for safe resumption of passenger cruises.

The cruise ship operators first must demonstrate they are following CDC guidelines on COVID-19 testing, quarantine and isolation of potentially infected persons. Later stages would include mock voyages with volunteers posing as passengers to test cruise ships’ ability to control COVID-19 risks.

The ships will need certification to show they meet CDC requirements before they can return to regular passenger voyages.

The phased approach “will mitigate the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks on ships and prevent passengers and crew from seeding outbreaks at ports and in the communities where they live,” CDC Director Robert R. Redfield said in a statement.

Carnival Corp. said on its website that the company plans to cooperate with the CDC guidelines but acknowledged the complexities created by the pandemic.

The CDC’s order produces “a significant number of requirements that must be evaluated in the context of our plans to resume operations,” the Carnival statement says.

Members of Congress suggested in their letter to the CDC that they will continue to make health concerns their top priority.

“As members of Congress and senior federal officials, we are all ultimately accountable to the American public,” the letter says.

Meanwhile, losses are mounting quickly for passenger cruise lines. The trade group Cruise Lines International Association is projecting their industry will lose more than $32 billion and 254,000 American jobs in 2020. In 2019, the industry was thriving.

Carnival and other passenger cruise companies are expecting additional losses from lawsuits.

In one widely reported case, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is facing a wrongful death lawsuit after a 27-year-old crew member died from the virus on the Celebrity Infinity ship. Two other sickened crew members had to be airlifted off another Royal Caribbean ship.

A+
a-
  • Centers for Disease Control
  • Coronavirus
  • cruise ships
  • health
  • super spreaders
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Health

    Small-Molecule Drugs Fuel the US Economy

    The Inflation Reduction Act represents a landmark shift in U.S. drug pricing regulation, introducing direct federal negotiation of drug prices... Read More

    The Inflation Reduction Act represents a landmark shift in U.S. drug pricing regulation, introducing direct federal negotiation of drug prices for the first time. Notably, the IRA imposes earlier price negotiation timelines for small-molecule drugs (nine years post-approval) than for biologics (13 years). This is unwise.... Read More

    July 16, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Medicare to Clamp Down on Payment for Skin Substitutes

    WASHINGTON — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to dramatically reduce what it pays for so-called “skin substitutes”... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to dramatically reduce what it pays for so-called “skin substitutes” or “skin bandages” that are currently costing the government hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The proposal, part of a sweeping rule published Monday in... Read More

    July 15, 2025
    by Sydney Devory
    DC Schools Prioritize Free Meals for Students

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia is committed to providing free meals for students in need despite challenges created by... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia is committed to providing free meals for students in need despite challenges created by recent legislation. Seven million children are predicted to lose eligibility for free school lunches due to SNAP and Medicaid cuts in the Republicans' recently passed policy... Read More

    July 14, 2025
    by Jesse Zucker
    How Much Water Is Enough?

    WASHINGTON — Whether it's a Stanley tumbler clutched in the gym or a gallon-sized jug making the rounds on TikTok,... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Whether it's a Stanley tumbler clutched in the gym or a gallon-sized jug making the rounds on TikTok, staying hydrated has become a full-time obsession for some people. Summer only adds to the urgency. When it’s hot out, we really do need more water.... Read More

    July 14, 2025
    by Jesse Zucker
    Getting Back to Nature May Help Ease Back Pain

    WASHINGTON — A walk in the woods might not cure chronic pain, but it could help some people cope with... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A walk in the woods might not cure chronic pain, but it could help some people cope with the condition. A new study out of the U.K. dives into how people living with chronic low back pain experience natural spaces and what may prevent... Read More

    Nine Deaths in Fire at Massachusetts Assisted Living Facility

    FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Nine people have died in a fire at an assisted living facility in Massachusetts, where... Read More

    FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Nine people have died in a fire at an assisted living facility in Massachusetts, where people were hanging out of windows screaming for help, authorities said Monday. At least 30 people were injured. Firefighters responded to the Gabriel House assisted living... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top