A cruise industry health panel jointly convened by Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is recommending Covid-19 tests for all guests and crew members as part of a plan released on Monday that the companies hope will clear the way to US sailings.
The recommendation is one of 74 steps outlined by the so-called Healthy Sail Panel in a report submitted to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the recommendations, guests must get tested between one and five days before boarding and show a negative result.
Speaking in a joint interview on Monday with Norwegian chief executive Frank Del Rio, Royal Caribbean chief executive Richard Fain said the guidance creates a path to welcoming guests back onto ships.
“We’ve always said we won’t start until we know it’s safe, but we think the panel has given us that pathway, and so we would start fairly quickly to assemble a crew and do all that,” Mr Fain said, declining to give a specific date. “We’re hoping that would be soon.”
The panel also recommended once-daily temperature checks for guests and crew, updating air-conditioning systems and modifying ships to promote physical distancing, including through the removal of self-service buffets.
The companies are seeking a green light from the CDC to restart US cruises. A CDC “no sail” order that prevents the companies from sailing in US waters expires at the end of the month, but the federal agency has previously extended the order.
Members of industry group Cruise Lines International Association – including Royal Caribbean and Norwegian – have suspended US cruise operations until at least the end of October.
The industry shut down in mid-March after a series of outbreaks and fatalities on ships. Now, it needs to convince governments and customers that it can prevent another one of those episodes, which captured the world’s attention and used critical resources at a key time in the pandemic.
In the CDC’s latest “no sail” order, the agency said it had spent 38,000 person-hours on its cruise-ship response between March and July. In that period, it has identified about 3,000 Covid-19 or Covid-like cases on cruise ships and 34 deaths, and it said 80 per cent of ships in US jurisdiction were affected by Covid-19 in the period.
Citing current scientific evidence, the CDC said cruise ships pose "greater risk of Covid-19 transmission" than other settings – a conclusion that the industry has quibbled with even after the onboard outbreaks. The order specifically mentioned an article in the Journal of Travel Medicine, which concluded that the reproduction rate of the virus on Carnival's Diamond Princess was about four times higher than in the early days of the virus in Wuhan, China.
Mr Fain and Norwegian’s Mr Del Rio said the return to the seas would be gradual. As the new guidelines suggest, the resumption would initially rely in part on trips to the companies’ private islands, where they can exert control over the environment.
“We need to build momentum, we need to build confidence,” Mr Del Rio said. “We need to demonstrate that what is on paper can actually be put into practice in a successful way.”
Speaking in the same joint interview, the panel’s co-chairmen said the recommendations would significantly reduce risk, but couldn’t completely eliminate it.
The chairmen, former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and former Utah Governor Michael Leavitt, said a key to the return to the seas was planning for how to offload passengers in the event that the virus does reach the ships.
“You can create a protective bubble around this environment,” Mr Gottlieb said. “You can control many aspects of this environment, and that allows you to substantially reduce the risk.”
Outside his role on the panel, Mr Gottlieb told CBS on Sunday that there would probably be at least one more viral cycle in the fall and winter, and that he didn’t anticipate a vaccine for general inoculation until late in the second quarter or into the third quarter of 2021.
Mr Leavitt said on Monday that the panel expected to incorporate feedback from the CDC. The companies will also be outlining specific procedures based on the panel’s recommendations.
“To those who are looking forward to cruising, this is an important milestone, but there’s still work to do,” Mr Leavitt said.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
New schools in Dubai
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The biog
Fast facts on Neil Armstrong’s personal life:
- Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio
- He earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16 – he could fly before he could drive
- There was tragedy in his married life: Neil and Janet Armstrong’s daughter Karen died at the age of two in 1962 after suffering a brain tumour. She was the couple’s only daughter. Their two sons, Rick and Mark, consulted on the film
- After Armstrong departed Nasa, he bought a farm in the town of Lebanon, Ohio, in 1971 – its airstrip allowed him to tap back into his love of flying
- In 1994, Janet divorced Neil after 38 years of marriage. Two years earlier, Neil met Carol Knight, who became his second wife in 1994
UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier, in Bangkok
UAE fixtures Mon Nov 20, v China; Tue Nov 21, v Thailand; Thu Nov 23, v Nepal; Fri Nov 24, v Hong Kong; Sun Nov 26, v Malaysia; Mon Nov 27, Final
(The winners will progress to the Global Qualifier)
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The five pillars of Islam
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
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%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
