Report: Just 15 Cruise Ships Arrived to The U.S. Free Of Coronavirus After March 1

Coronavirus continues to dominate headlines in the nation and disrupt Americans’ way of life. Many people became aware just how serious the pandemic would become when massive coronavirus outbreaks began to appear on cruise ships. It seems that the vessels lived up to their moniker as floating Petri dishes as up to 700 or more passengers fell ill with the virus aboard some ships. Now, a new report indicates that out of over 100 ships that arrived at the U.S. after March 1, just 15 were free of coronavirus.

TheWeek.com reports that a New York Times analysis of data by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that over 87% of the cruise ships calling on the United States from March forward were carrying passengers sick with the virus. Possibly contributing to coronavirus’ spread aboard the vessels is the fact that the cruising population tends to be older.

At least 3,000 people contracted coronavirus in relation to cruise activity, the report says. At least 82 of those travelers died of complications relating to COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus.

The cruise industry appears to be taking an overly cautious approach to returning to operations after having suspended them in March. All major cruise lines have announced that they will not offer any US-based sailings until at least September 15. Carnival, the world’s largest cruise line, has announced that it will not return to operations before October.