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EU Health Protocols


mrlevin
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Actually cats have a keener sense of smell than dogs do.  However not that many people know how to train cats.  Cats are highly trainable and respond to both verbal commands and hand signals.  

 

Having dogs go thorough the crowd before boarding a plane (or ship) could be very helpful - especially if it is true that they can detect the virus before a person becomes symptomatic.  

 

 

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On 7/2/2020 at 1:41 PM, mrlevin said:

The EU Health Protocols have been posted here

 

Whether or not we like the content of the EU interim document, IMO it is encouraging that EU officials have been proactive in preparing this guidance document in consultation with the cruise lines. It is also good to see that the guidance acknowledges the important role of the ports, as well as the cruise companies, in ensuring that passengers & crew do not become stranded in the case of an outbreak of the virus.

 

From a recent CC News article it seems that US authorities have not been quite so active in preparation for the resumption of cruising any time soon:

After Norwegian announced its latest suspension, a prominent market analyst blamed the CDC for bias against the cruise industry. According to MarketWatch, Instinet analyst Harry Curtis told his clients that the cruise line has been suggesting protocols for resumption of service, but the agency has shown "limited interest" in the discussions.

"This issue is NOT that the industry has been passive in developing health protocols. Quite the contrary," Curtis said. "In our view, the hurdle lies with the CDC's unwillingness to discuss, debate and mutually implement the highest standards of passenger and crew health care."

 

 

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16 hours ago, greykitty said:

question is what have the "US" cruise lines submitted for review, I think.  

The depressing Miami Herald article that you posted on another Topic also indicates that protocols for restarting cruises in US waters is not high on the agenda:

"The CDC has not yet begun to work on a plan to reopen cruising"

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I have to wonder if the Herald meant the CDC has not yet approved any of the lines' plans to reopen.  And fair enough IMO if the general public doesn't know yet if various lines haven't submitted any plans for approval yet, or have submitted multiple versions getting closer to approval, or if all the draft plans are sitting on a desk somewhere.  As noted earlier, the EU suggested protocols for cruise lines to use as a basis for their own reopening plans are similar to what the CDC provided.

 

That article was depressing - and so many localities with the same issue of too many eggs in one basket, I think.  

 

That said, the CDC has a lot on their plate, including that as of June 30 there are still an awful lot of cruise ships who are not totally 'green' even on the crew repatriation plan.  Actually, only one ship apparently checked all the boxes if I read this right.  And, to be fair, at this point looking at the COVID stats, I have the feeling a lot of cruise ship execs are just as happy to not be sailing right now from some of their main US ports.  I really don't think the industry wants any publicity about another 'plague' ship, especially if the plans haven't been made on how to treat, isolate, and transport both infected passengers/crew or those who have been exposed.  

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/crew-disembarkations-commercial-travel.html#response 

 

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Speaking of cruise lines working on plans to submit to the CDC - maybe they'll have something to go by the end of August (such a timely alert LOL!)  At least RCL and NCL seem to hope so.

 

"The expert panel has been working for nearly a month and will offer its initial recommendations by the end of August. The cruise lines said its work will be "open source," and could be freely adopted by any company or industry that would benefit from the group's scientific and medical insights."

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/leading-public-health-experts-oversee-123000586.html

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On 7/4/2020 at 4:08 PM, Travelcat2 said:

Actually cats have a keener sense of smell than dogs do.  However not that many people know how to train cats.  Cats are highly trainable and respond to both verbal commands and hand signals.  

 

Having dogs go thorough the crowd before boarding a plane (or ship) could be very helpful - especially if it is true that they can detect the virus before a person becomes symptomatic.  

 

 

Yeah, virus-sniffing cats would alert on people they just didn't like the look of.  Kind of a feline power play.

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  • 3 weeks later...

@flossie009, thanks for the links.  I'm sure the eyes of so many health and cruise authorities are watching these trials carefully.  

 

Shame about some AIDA crew testing positive on arrival in Germany - but does emphasize, I think, importance of multiple bouts of testing for everyone. I'd read another source that said on departure from Manila they were negative.

 

The TUI-produced video was very interesting to me - I'd kind of forgotten the relatively close working quarters of the bridge.  I wish I understood the narration LOL!  Certainly everyone looked as though they were working very hard to protect crew and passengers.  

 

Do TUI's demographics generally run as young as the passenger group I saw on the video?  They did seem excited and happy to be on the ship.  The contactless interactions shown and the dining wouldn't bother me - in just a few months I've come to not expect things to be 'as they were'.  And now I really do expect to see a temp scan pretty much everywhere - not a failsafe, but an easy thing to implement in general. But might be harder for much experienced cruisers, I suppose.  Human nature to want the same or better experience as in prior trips.

 

I admit, the scene in the theater gave me some pause - it didn't seem to me that everyone  in the audience were wearing masks even though they were physically separated.  Then again, no live theater in my state yet, so seeing that scene made me both jealous and fearful.

 

But I was pleased to see that the ship apparently supplied masks in the passenger cabins, and many shots indicated good compliance.  And Purell everywhere!

 

I hope the experience was good for pax and crew, and I'm sure will provide a lot of good data as other cruise lines work on their own planning.

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On 7/6/2020 at 12:46 PM, UUNetBill said:

Yeah, virus-sniffing cats would alert on people they just didn't like the look of.  Kind of a feline power play.

 

I forgot about that post.   When reading all the theories about what the CDC will or will not do makes about as much sense as having a virus-sniffing cat!  

 

Responding to a different topic - the bridge is not necessarily small - I suppose that it depends upon the ship.  We have been on a few bridge tours and they were a good size  with plenty of room to social distance.  

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1 hour ago, BBWC said:

Not starting out well in Europe. Third case of crew infections (after AIDA and TUI). Passengers were allowed to leave the ship.

 

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-07-31/four-crew-members-on-norway-cruise-ship-hospitalised-with-covid-19

More ammunition for the powers that control the cruising industry to keep things closed.

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Re: crew infections. Are these crew members quarantined for 14 days before allowed on the ship? Are they kept in pods? Were they allowed off the ship? So many questions need to be answered before one can come to any conclusion. 

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3 hours ago, DuffyMcfluffy said:

Go over to the Celebrity board and find the thread “Live from the first cruise in the pandemic.”
Interesting reading.

 

Thank you so much for giving us information to that thread.  It was so interesting to learn the protocols of TUI and how is was being handled “live” from the ship.  I was so sorry to hear about another TUI ship that had a Covid-19 outbreak and that passengers had to disembark the ship.  Hope that everyone is okay.

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18 hours ago, BBWC said:

Not starting out well in Europe. Third case of crew infections (after AIDA and TUI). Passengers were allowed to leave the ship.

 

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-07-31/four-crew-members-on-norway-cruise-ship-hospitalised-with-covid-19

Getting worse; more infected, per this story; next sailing cancelled. 

 

I believe this story is of interest to all cruise passengers on any line.  And, I bet every single regulator and cruise line executive is watching intently.  If there's a silver lining, perhaps more data is being captured and protocols being refined as we see 'real life' attempts at cruising, even under strict modifications.

 

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/travel/2020/07/hurtigruten-cancels-svalbard-cruise-crew-members-have-been-diagnosed-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR0sHw9LIJGTN4q8r7TqQDNRzsx1HyfT_zE3SkWM-BVNhZw1Uf86LU_9Dfo#.XyVVePcbdEE.facebook

 

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58 minutes ago, greykitty said:

Getting worse; more infected, per this story; next sailing cancelled. 

 

 

 

The problem is there are always some people who don’t follow the rules. There were people standing in the distant background in the video with no masks, people lying at the pool with no masks (and others walking close to them to get by), a very small elevator for 4 people, the crew living in close quarters, etc. 
 

It’s great to hope that sailing with restrictions is going to work, but it’s just not.  Which is why Crystal responsibly canceled 2020.

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16 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

Re: crew infections. Are these crew members quarantined for 14 days before allowed on the ship? Are they kept in pods? Were they allowed off the ship? So many questions need to be answered before one can come to any conclusion. 


This is from the Hurtigruten website:

Non-Norwegian crew members are quarantined before boarding the ship, and non-European crew need to undergo two negative Covid-19 tests before even leaving their home country.

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45 minutes ago, Cruise-y said:

The problem is there are always some people who don’t follow the rules. There were people standing in the distant background in the video with no masks, people lying at the pool with no masks (and others walking close to them to get by), a very small elevator for 4 people, the crew living in close quarters, etc. 
 

It’s great to hope that sailing with restrictions is going to work, but it’s just not.  Which is why Crystal responsibly canceled 2020.


Per Hurtigruten, mask wearing is optional for both crew and passengers. This is per Norwegian health guidelines.

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2 hours ago, Cruise-y said:

The problem is there are always some people who don’t follow the rules. There were people standing in the distant background in the video with no masks, people lying at the pool with no masks (and others walking close to them to get by), a very small elevator for 4 people, the crew living in close quarters, etc. 
 

It’s great to hope that sailing with restrictions is going to work, but it’s just not.  Which is why Crystal responsibly canceled 2020.

 

You are so right.  People don’t follow the rules in the U.S. and look at the mess that we are in.  The protocols for the ships currently sailing (or that were sailing as of a couple of days ago) are a bit different than what we are seeing in in the proposed protocols for ships sailing in U.S. waters.

 

Masks - social distancing - washing your hands ........ all of these simple things will help stop the spread of Covid.

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One of the big challenges we have in the US is for some reason wearing a mask has become a political issue.  Anecdotally, you see on the news people who have meltdowns over being asked to wear a mask to enter a store.  I have seen in Florida, where a person pulled a gun a person who was asking them to don a mask.

 

 

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Wearing a mask and social distancing are obviously the most important. The way that things are going in the US and the UK as well as other parts of Europe it is not looking good. 

Serious lockdown following very firm advice from our chief minister and director of Public Health, though harsh, was effective. It does mean that travel to the UK is limited and to virtually anywhere else is impossible. The upside is we have been Covid free for 93 days, no masks or social distancing needed. Indeed life is virtually back to normal.  

We have just missed our last cruise (Barcelona to Venice) but have lived it virtually. We looked at past photos and had our meals in Prime7, CR and Sette Mari accordingly. Sadly the drinks weren’t quite so flowing!

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Apparently Japan isn't doing well either?  And I know my own state is seeing statistics go the wrong way, boo!  And the debates about school openings, in almost any shape (virtual/blended/in person), are getting more heated by the moment.  

 

My internist yesterday told me to still pretty much follow shelter in place 'rules'; I asked him about heading back to the sport facility walking track, which is nice and protected from the extremes of Midwestern weather, and claims to meet and exceed all protocols.  That was a big 'nope' - and this guy is a strong proponent about the physical and mental health benefits of exercise.  He said, outdoors and at home is suggested - as long as physical distancing is observed.  

 

And of course, forget participating in any large groups....

 

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/07/29/Japan-breaks-daily-record-for-coronavirus-cases/1741596042140/

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@greykitty yes I feel sorry for all those who need to shield or shelter. It is the actions of the selfish few who spoil it for the many. 

In the UK, with the warm weather, people are dashing to beaches and pubs with no social distancing etc. Hence the resurgence. 

My wife and I should have visited our elderly parents in the UK but that is impossible. People need to listen to follow the science more for us to succeed and bring it under control. 

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@Guerncruising, thank you.  We're currently in Stage 4 (of a five stage process), so many stores are open, although supposed to watch how many are inside at a time, many restaurants are open for inside dining under strict protocols, health clubs are open in many cases with safety protocols - theoretically making real progress, and masking is state mandated, although opposed by more than a  few folks. 

 

My doctor is just quite nervous that numbers are going to rise very quickly with the stage relaxation.  He's also unsure that any vaccine will be the total panacea we'd all love.  I have type 2 diabetes so he will want me in one of the earlier inoculation phases as possible, but bluntly told me don't be counting on anything any too soon and stick with shelter in place as much as I can.

 

However, I agree, I think an awful lot of people stopped thinking the virus could really affect them, and now the numbers are rising.  States around us are even worse.  In my particular area, people seem to be adhering to wearing masks for the most part - but then we had a story of a bunch of high schoolers who had a 'pop up prom' across the state line.  I have no idea what the kids, their parents, the chaperones, or the hosting facility were thinking, but now that's caused a good sized problem.

 

I get the idea that cruise ships, and their most fervent fans, are so eager to literally 'test the waters', but I think it's far too early to consider that, for their own safety and the rest of the population.  Oh, well...

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