2020 coronavirus pandemic on cruise ships
Passengers and crew who travelled on several cruise ships during the
2019–20 coronavirus pandemic were found to be infected with the novel
SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the pandemic. Although most ships involved did not have substantial spread of the disease, on the British-registered
Diamond Princess, there was substantial spread of the virus amongst the passengers and crew. The ship was quarantined in February 2020 for nearly a month with about 3,700 passengers and crew on board; around 700 people were infected in the incident, and seven died.
The crisis management team of the German federal government said on 4 March 2020, following several actual and suspected outbreaks on cruise ships, "The Federal Foreign Office has included in its travel advice that there is an increased risk of quarantine on cruise ships."
[1] On 11 March 2020,
Viking Cruises suspended operations for its 79-vessel fleet until the end of April, cancelling all ocean and river cruises, after it was revealed that a passenger on a cruise in Cambodia had been exposed to the virus while in transit via plane, placing at least 28 other passengers in quarantine.
[2][3] Similarly, on 12 March,
Princess Cruises, owner of virus-stricken ships
Diamond Princess and
Grand Princess, suspended operations for all future cruises on its 18-ship fleet for 60 days.
[4][5] The
Federal Transport Minister of
Canada announced on 13 March that ships carrying more than 500 people cannot dock in Canada through 1 July 2020.
[6]