MIAMI, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New
recommendations from a panel of globally recognized medical and
scientific experts say that by relentlessly focusing on prevention
and other measures – including the testing of guests and crew
members – public health risks associated with the pandemic can be
mitigated in a cruise ship environment.
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The Healthy Sail Panel submitted its recommendations today to
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in
response to a CDC request for public comment that will be used to
inform future public health guidance and preventative measures
relating to travel on cruise ships. The Panel was formed in June by
Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line
Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH).
The Panel comprises globally recognized experts in medical
practice and research, public health, infectious diseases,
biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations that have applied
the best available public health, science and engineering insights
to their recommendations.
The Healthy Sail Panel's 65-plus-page report includes 74
detailed best practices to protect the public health and safety of
guests, crew and the communities where cruise ships call.
Recommendations include testing, the use of face coverings, and
enhanced sanitation procedures on ships and in terminals. The Panel
is chaired by Governor Mike Leavitt,
former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr.
Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner
of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"The Healthy Sail Panel spent the last four months studying how
to better protect the health and safety of guests and crew aboard
cruise ships," said Dr. Gottlieb. "Taken as a comprehensive
approach, we believe the Panel's robust public health
recommendations will help inform strategies for a safe resumption
of sailing."
Gov. Leavitt said: "This Panel undertook an ambitious,
cross-disciplinary, public health examination to develop standards
and guidelines that create the highest level of safety in the
complex environment of a cruise ship. We studied the industry's
experiences combating the pandemic – and we then incorporated the
many lessons learned and advances made by medicine and science over
the past six months. The Panel's recommendations are grounded in
the best scientific and medical information available and are
intended to meaningfully mitigate public health risks to those who
sail."
"We understand our responsibility to act aggressively to protect
the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as the
communities where we sail, and we asked the Panel to help us learn
how to best live up to that responsibility," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal
Caribbean Group. "We were inspired by the depth of the Panel's work
and their determination to help us establish the strongest
protocols in the travel industry."
"The Healthy Sail Panel's recommendations are robust and
comprehensive, and they reflect the intense focus the panelists
brought to their work," said Frank Del
Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Ltd. "We know that both authorities around the globe and consumers
expect cruise lines to provide the safest, healthiest vacations we
can, and this work demonstrates our commitment to doing just
that."
Fain and Del Rio said each
company will use the Panel's recommendations to inform the
development of new, detailed operating protocols, which will be
submitted to the CDC and other authorities around the globe for
review and approval– an important milestone in the process of
resuming sailing around the world. The Panel's work is open sourced
for others to incorporate in their protocols as well; Governor
Leavitt and Dr. Gottlieb expressed appreciation that authorities
and other cruise companies had already engaged in the Panel's work
as observers.
The Healthy Sail Panel identified five areas of focus every
cruise operator should address to improve health and safety for
guests and crew, and reduce the risk of infection and spread of
COVID-19 on cruise ships:
- Testing, Screening and Exposure Reduction
- Sanitation and Ventilation
- Response, Contingency Planning and Execution
- Destination and Excursion Planning
- Mitigating Risks for Crew Members
In each category, the Healthy Sail Panel created practical and
actionable recommendations to address specific safety concerns.
Among the recommendations are key strategies such as:
- Taking aggressive measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 from entering
a ship through robust education, screening and testing of both crew
and guests prior to embarkation
- Reducing transmission via air management strategies and
enhanced sanitation practices
- Implementing detailed plans to address positive infection on
board, including contingencies for onboard treatment, isolation and
rapid evacuation and repatriation
- Closely controlling shore excursions
- Enhanced protection for crew members
The full Healthy Sail Panel report can be found here: Royal
Caribbean Group or Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
Some of the statements contained in this release
are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S.
federal securities laws intended to qualify for the safe harbor
from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of
historical facts contained in this release, including, without
limitation, those regarding business strategies, plans, and
objectives for future operations (including those regarding efforts
made by the panel and future health and safety protocols and
mitigation efforts) are forward-looking statements and we cannot
guarantee that our protocols and mitigation efforts will be
successful. Many, but not all, of these statements can be found by
looking for words like "expect," "plan," "will," "may," and similar
words. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future
performance and may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors
which could cause actual results, performance or achievements to
differ materially from the future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking
statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other
factors include, but are not limited to the impact of: the spread
of epidemics, pandemics and viral outbreaks and specifically, the
COVID-19 outbreak, including its effect on the ability or desire of
people to travel (including on cruises); the ability to develop
strategies to enhance health and safety protocols to adapt to the
current pandemic environment's unique challenges once operations
resume and to otherwise safely resume operations when conditions
allow; coordination and cooperation with the CDC, the federal
government and global public health authorities to take precautions
to protect the health, safety and security of guests, crew and the
communities visited and the implementation of any such precautions;
and other factors set forth under "Risk Factors" in each respective
company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q and subsequent filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. It is not possible to predict or identify all
such risks. While we believe that the recommendations of the panel
will make cruise vacations safer, we cannot guarantee or assure
that our protocols and mitigation efforts will effectively
eliminate the risk of contracting COVID-19. There may be additional
risks that are considered immaterial or which are unknown. The
above examples are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to
time. Such forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs,
assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections regarding
present and future business strategies and the environment in which
we expect to operate in the future. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date made. We expressly disclaim
any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in
our expectations with regard thereto or any change of events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statement was
based.
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SOURCE Royal Caribbean Group; Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Ltd.