Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announces a lawsuit against the CDC during a news conference at the Port of Miami, April 8, 2021.(AP-Wilfredo Lee)
On Thursday (April 8), Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the state is suing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the ability to immediately start cruise ships (cruises) in Florida to restart cruise tourism.
Last week, the CDC issued new anti-epidemic guidelines telling companies how to respond to the new coronavirus (CCA virus), and there are many requirements for the cruise ship industry, while still not lifting the ban on cruise ship sailings.
Today, Florida is fighting back,” DeSantis said. We don’t believe the federal government can block a major industry with very little evidence and information, and we think we have a good chance of winning.”
DeSantis said at a news conference at the Port of Miami that the no-cruise ship order is outdated and that it hurts Florida because the industry puts thousands of Floridians to work and brings in billions of dollars more to the state.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said the lawsuit is against the CDC, the Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The lawsuit has been filed in federal district court in Tampa.
The lawsuit says, “Cruise ships are being looked at differently and prohibited from reopening, unlike other industries in the United States. And that’s despite the fact that several European and Asian countries have sailed after successfully adopting reasonable safety rules to combat the new coronavirus. But the U.S. has banned cruise ships from sailing since March 2020, causing the industry to be on the verge of bankruptcy.”
On Thursday, Royal Caribbean Group announced that it will continue to suspend its premium cruise ships Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Royal Caribbean International, which sail from the United States. “(Royal Caribbean International) and Silversea Cruises. All of these cruise ships will be out of service until June 30. But both Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity have said they have opened many new locations around the world and will continue to sail in other parts of the world.
Safety is paramount, and we know that cruises can be safe,” said Richard D. Fain, president of Royal Caribbean. We’ve seen it in Europe and Asia. And with the growing number of Americans administering vaccines and our compliance with the rules of the Healthy Voyages Society, we are creating a safe environment for cruising. We strongly believe that President Biden’s goal of reopening the entire American community on Independence Day (July 1) is feasible.”
And Royal Caribbean has carried more than 100,000 passengers outside the U.S. since the start of the Communist virus pandemic, and has found only 10 cases of infection, according to U.S. media outlet CNBC.
“Hopefully, cruise ships will be treated like airlines and other transportation industries,” Vann said on “CBS This Morning” Thursday.
Arnold Donald, president of Carnival Cruise Line, also said cruise ships should be “treated like other industries, such as travel, tourism and entertainment.”
In a statement Monday, the Cruise Lines International Association called on the CDC to liberalize the “Conditional Sailing Order” restrictions. The statement said, “The irony is that Americans can fly to countless locations to take a cruise ship, but not in the United States. This deprives American workers of the opportunity to participate in the economic recovery, denies the cruise industry’s months-long efforts to prevent epidemics and maintain passenger safety, and denies that cruise ships also have the ability to effectively mitigate the crisis.”
Carnival Cruise Lines said they may need to relocate from all of their U.S. destinations if the CDC fails to loosen restrictions or come up with a viable way to do so, the Daily Wire reported Wednesday, April 7.
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