Florida Sues Federal Government to Allow Cruises to Sail Has Been Assigned

The state filed a lawsuit against the government Thursday, demanding that cruise ships be allowed to depart from U.S. ports.

What We Know:

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Tampa. The suit is against the CDC, Dept. of Health and Human Services, and the Biden Administration. The CDC issued a “no sail” order in March of last year after several Covid-19 outbreaks were traced to cruise ships around the world.
• DeSantis called the CDC’s order “irrational,” stating that the shutdown has caused Florida to lose billions of dollars of revenue. In the first 6 months of the pandemic, the state lost $3.2 billion from the shutdown, according to CNBC. Nearly 50,000 jobs were lost as well.
• The CDC recently issued guidelines for cruise companies: they are required to regularly test their crew at ports and implement vaccination strategies in order to reduce the spread of the virus. In its research, the CDC found Covid is transmitted more easily on cruise ships than other environments.
• Cruise lines have continued their suspension of operations. Royal Caribbean and Disney cruise lines announced they would pause all trips until June. Arnold Donald, the CEO of Carnival stated he would like the cruise industry to be treated like the airline industry, as planes have been permitted to fly throughout the pandemic.

Sixty percent of the nation’s cruises leave from Florida. As long as cruises are prohibited from sailing, the state will continue to lose a vital portion of its economy.

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