The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday advised people against travelling by cruise ship regardless of their vaccination status after a recent increase in positive Covid cases as the omicron variant sweeps the world.
The CDC increased its travel warning for cruise ships to the highest level. The agency is currently investigating or observing dozens of cruise ships that have had Covid outbreaks.
The CDC warned that Covid transmits easily between people in close quarters on board ships, and the chance of catching the virus on a cruise is very high even for people who are vaccinated and have received a booster dose.
The CDC advised that people who do decide to travel on a cruise ship get vaccinated before their trip and receive a booster dose if eligible. Passengers who are not fully vaccinated should self-quarantine for five days after travel.
The stocks of Royal Caribbean Cruise, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Carnival were down on the news. Brian Salerno with the Cruise Lines International Association said the trade group was disappointed by the CDC’s decision.
“We’re obviously disappointed at the CDC’s decision to raise the travel level for cruise today–especially given the overwhelming level of effectiveness of cruise protocols that are resulting in significantly lower level of cases on cruise as compared to land,” Salerno, the senior vice president of global maritime policy at CLIA told CNBC.
Correction: Norwegian Cruise Lines and Carnival stocks were down more than 2% on the news. Royal Caribbean fell 1.93%. A previous version of this story misstated Royal Carribbean’s stock move.
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