The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended its ban on cruise sailings in American waters until the end of September.
The previous ‘No Sail Order’ had been due to expire on July 24. However, Clia had already extended its voluntary suspension of sailings until September 15.
The CDC said: “CDC supports the June 19th decision by the Cruise Lines International Association to extend voluntarily the suspension of operations for passenger cruise ship travel until September 15, 2020.
“In line with Clia’s announcement of voluntary suspension of operation by its member companies, CDC has extended its No Sail Order to ensure that passenger operations on cruise ships do not resume prematurely.”
Clia said: “As reflected in today’s announcement, Clia and its member lines remain aligned with the CDC in our commitment to public health and safety. We are also pleased that the CDC has announced its intention to issue a request for information about the industry’s resumption of passenger operations.
“As we continue to work towards the development of enhanced protocols to support the safe resumption of cruise operations around the world, we look forward to timely and productive dialogue with the CDC to determine measures that will be appropriate for ocean-going cruise operations to resume in the United States when the time is right.”