THE United States Government has advised its citizens to avoid cruises as the novel coronavirus continues to spread.

“US citizens, particularly travellers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship,” the State Department said in a statement posted to its website, yesterday.

“CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) notes increased risk of infection of COVID-19 in a cruise ship environment. In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures that have denied port entry rights to ships and prevented passengers from disembarking. In some cases, local authorities have permitted disembarkation but subjected passengers to local quarantine procedures. While the US Government has evacuated some cruise ship passengers in recent weeks, repatriation flights should not be relied upon as an option for US citizens under the potential risk of quarantine by local authorities.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/us-tells-citizens-to-avoid-cruises_189123