With commercial ships unable to operate until at least mid-April, Carnival Corporation has proposed requisitioning some cruise ships as floating hospitals to serve patients who need to be quarantined for observation. This is to relieve the overload of hospitals in the US when the number of Covid-19 patients is expected to increase sharply.
The cruise ships that could be used are: Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia. Each ship can provide up to 1,000 hospital beds. Hospital cruise ship rooms will be converted to monitor patients remotely. Each room has a bathroom and a private balcony with sunlight and fresh air.
This hospital cruise ship is also capable of providing up to seven standard ICU resuscitation rooms and can be divided into “wards” thanks to the flexible movement of the ship's decks.
The temporary vessels will be moored at a pier near the community to wait for use when needed. The vessels will be manned by crews who will be responsible for all navigation, food and cleaning operations. Medical services will be provided by the government or hospital responsible for combating the spread of Covid-19 in that community.
President Trump had a personal conversation with Micky Arison, President of Carnival Corp.: “If a ship is needed to help during this time, Carnival is ready to help. Wherever it is, whether it is Los Angeles, New York, or Miami, they are ready!”
The White House has ordered the deployment of two large Navy hospital ships. One will go to New York. The other will sail along the West Coast, with stops in California or Seattle. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, cruise ships have been following strict sanitation protocols throughout their voyages. The cruise lines insist that every ship is thoroughly disinfected between voyages.
