The US health authority has revised its guidance of Covid-19 risk level on cruise ships down to ‘moderate’.
The change was made on Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It the lowest level issued since the pandemic first started and the US cruise industry suspension of sailing began in March 2020.
The US CDC runs four levels of Covid travel health notices, from level 4 “very high” to level 1 “low”.
The Covid health threat over sailings from the country was reduced from ‘very high’ to ‘high’ a month ago, a move welcomed by the cruise industry.
The CDC lowers the THN [travel health notice] level for cruise ship travel when the cumulative Covid-19 case count among crew members meets the THN threshold for a lower level and remains at that level for 14 consecutive days.
The total number of vaccinated crew on ships and vaccine effectiveness against the circulating variant will be considered when determining if the THN level can be lowered before 14 days, according to the CDC.
Cumulative levels of new cases amongst crew on US ships in the past two weeks was calculated as between 500 and 999, triggering the change. The highest travel advisory is at level 4 when there are more than 2,000 cases.
The moderate level guidance recommends US travellers are fully vaccinated before taking a cruise.
Under the ‘moderate’ risk level, the CDC also advises: “If you are not up to date with Covid-19 vaccines and are at increased risk for severe illness from Covid-19, avoid cruise ship travel.”
The CDC added: “Getting vaccinated is still the best way to protect yourself from severe disease, slow the spread of Covid-19, and reduce the number of new variants.
The THN [travel health notice] for cruise ship travel represents the status of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“For travellers booking cruise travel now, be aware that the level may change as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves and may be different by the time of your cruise,” the CDC said.
Cruise industry bosses have previously criticised the CDC for holding back the restart of the cruise sector from US ports and have relaxed the requirement fir passengers to wear masks on board.
Cruise trade body Clia had warned that stringent CDC voluntary rules for sailing in US waters were “potentially unworkable”.