Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar 27;69(12):347-352.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6912e3.

Public Health Responses to COVID-19 Outbreaks on Cruise Ships - Worldwide, February-March 2020

Leah F Moriarty, Mateusz M Plucinski, Barbara J Marston, Ekaterina V Kurbatova, Barbara Knust, Erin L Murray, Nicki Pesik, Dale Rose, David Fitter, Miwako Kobayashi, Mitsuru Toda, Paul T Cantey, Tara Scheuer, Eric S Halsey, Nicole J Cohen, Lauren Stockman, Debra A Wadford, Alexandra M Medley, Gary Green, Joanna J Regan, Kara Tardivel, Stefanie White, Clive Brown, Christina Morales, Cynthia Yen, Beth Wittry, Amy Freeland, Sara Naramore, Ryan T Novak, David Daigle, Michelle Weinberg, Anna Acosta, Carolyn Herzig, Bryan K Kapella, Kathleen R Jacobson, Katherine Lamba, Atsuyoshi Ishizumi, John Sarisky, Erik Svendsen, Tricia Blocher, Christine Wu, Julia Charles, Riley Wagner, Andrea Stewart, Paul S Mead, Elizabeth Kurylo, Stefanie Campbell, Rachel Murray, Paul Weidle, Martin Cetron, Cindy R Friedman; CDC Cruise Ship Response Team; California Department of Public Health COVID-19 Team; Solano County COVID-19 Team
Collaborators, Affiliations

Public Health Responses to COVID-19 Outbreaks on Cruise Ships - Worldwide, February-March 2020

Leah F Moriarty et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .

Abstract

An estimated 30 million passengers are transported on 272 cruise ships worldwide each year* (1). Cruise ships bring diverse populations into proximity for many days, facilitating transmission of respiratory illness (2). SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and has since spread worldwide to at least 187 countries and territories. Widespread COVID-19 transmission on cruise ships has been reported as well (3). Passengers on certain cruise ship voyages might be aged ≥65 years, which places them at greater risk for severe consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection (4). During February-March 2020, COVID-19 outbreaks associated with three cruise ship voyages have caused more than 800 laboratory-confirmed cases among passengers and crew, including 10 deaths. Transmission occurred across multiple voyages of several ships. This report describes public health responses to COVID-19 outbreaks on these ships. COVID-19 on cruise ships poses a risk for rapid spread of disease, causing outbreaks in a vulnerable population, and aggressive efforts are required to contain spread. All persons should defer all cruise travel worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Cumulative number of confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases by date of detection — Diamond Princess cruise ship, Yokohama, Japan, February 3–March 16, 2020 Source: World Health Organization (WHO) coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) situation reports. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports/. * Decline in cumulative number of cases on February 13 and February 25 due to correction by WHO for cases that had been counted twice.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Cruise ships with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases requiring public health responses — worldwide, January–March 2020
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Cruise Lines International Association. 2019 cruise trends & industry outlook. Washington, DC: Cruise Line International Association; 2019. https://cruising.org/news-and-research/-/media/CLIA/Research/CLIA-2019-S...
    1. Millman AJ, Kornylo Duong K, Lafond K, Green NM, Lippold SA, Jhung MA. Influenza outbreaks among passengers and crew on two cruise ships: a recent account of preparedness and response to an ever-present challenge. J Travel Med 2015;22:306–11. 10.1111/jtm.12215 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) situation reports. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2020. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situatio...
    1. CDC COVID-19 Response Team. Severe outcomes among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)—United States, February 12–March 16, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020. Epub March 18, 2020. 10.15585/mmwr.mm6912e2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cruise Lines International Association. CLIA announces voluntary suspension in U.S. cruise operations. Washington, DC: Cruise Line International Association; 2020. https://cruising.org:443/news-and-research/press-room/2020/march/clia-co...

MeSH terms