CDC investigating 90 cruise ships after COVID-19 outbreaks on board

According to an update from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the government is investigating nearly 90 ships in the aftermath of COVID-19 outbreaks aboard the vessels.

The CDC stated that 86 ships have a crew or passenger testing COVID-19 positive. Some ships are also on the radar because the health departments alerted the agency of passengers with COVID-19 who left within five days to the CDC's website.

The agency is currently looking into 38 ships. The CDC has previously looked at another 48 ships, but they are still "under surveillance". To put things in perspective, the CDC announced on Monday that it was investigating and inspecting several ships.

Disney, MSC Cruises, Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity Cruises are among the cruise lines affected.

The CDC had been "completely informed and supportive of its policies and operational plans," a Carnival representative said in a statement on Monday. On Monday, an MSC Cruises representative told media that the cruise line's health protocols had accommodated nearly 1 million guests. These protocols contained a COVID-19 vaccination requirement as of late November.

In a statement released on Monday, a representative for the Cruise Lines International Association noted that due to vaccine restrictions, fewer COVID-19 cases had been discovered on cruise ships than on "land."

However, a CDC representative noted in a statement the same day that the risk of contracting the virus while on a cruise remained "high" and that cruises could never be considered a "zero-risk activity."

The news comes as COVID-19 instances continue to rise as the Omicron version spreads. Some ships have been barred from passenger disembarkation or ports of stop due to this, and three major cruise lines have begun implementing harsher masking requirements.

Airlines have also had to cancel thousands of flights due to increased COVID-19 cases among airline employees and adverse weather.