Three U.S. Senators Introduce Bill to Revoke the CDC’s Conditional Order 

Caribbean News…
15 April 2021 9:11pm
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A trio of U.S. Senators—Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Rick Scott (R-FL)—has introduced a new bill that would revoke the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) current Conditional Sail Order on cruises and allow cruise lines to start sailing out of U.S. ports.

The Careful Resumption Under Improved Safety Enhancements (CRUISE) Act would require the CDC to provide COVID-19 mitigation guidance for cruise lines to resume safe domestic operations by July 4.

This is the third bill introduced over the last year aimed at helping the cruise industry regain normal operations. Two other bills, including one aimed at allowing ships to sail to Alaska without having to stop in Canada, failed.

All three Senators, along with Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), who is leading companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, come from states that have cruise ports hubs and are most negatively affected by the cruise ship ban.

The bill would create an interagency group that would issue recommendations for how cruise lines can mitigate COVID-19 risks onboard and onshore and would require the CDC to issue recommendations that would allow ships to restart by July 4.

While the CDC has kept to its November restart date for cruising, there have been indications that it could shift course. Last week, a CDC spokesperson told TMR that cruise lines might be able to restart “by mid-summer.”

Source: Travel Market Report

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