Cruise ships may be able to set sail in US waters this summer, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its COVID-19 guidelines for the industry.
The US cruise industry, which has been on hold for more than a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, could restart passenger voyages by mid-July, as long as cruise lines comply with updated COVID-19 regulations.
The guidelines, updated from the initial framework published earlier this month, say cruise lines can avoid trial voyages if 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are vaccinated against COVID-19.
In a statement to Insider, the CDC said it has met with cruise-line representatives twice a week to discuss “the fastest path back to sailing without compromising safety.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year, the cruise-ship industry was thrown into disarray. The CDC issued a no-sailing order after thousands of passengers aboard cruise ships were stranded or infected with the virus. Later on in the year, the agency issued a conditional sailing order.