The DR government should take note!
Avoid cruise travel as Omicron cases surge, says U.S. CDC
https://www.reuters.com/business/health … 021-12-30/
Dec 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said people should avoid traveling on cruise ships regardless of their vaccination status, as daily COVID-19 cases in the country climb to record highs due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
The move delivers another blow to the cruise industry that had just started returning to the seas in June after a months-long suspension of voyages caused by the pandemic.
The CDC on Thursday raised its COVID-19 travel health notice level for cruise ships to its highest warning level, citing reports of COVID-19 outbreaks on cruises.
The health agency has investigated and still probing into COVID-19 cases on more than 90 ships. It starts scrutiny if 0.10% or more passengers on guest voyages test positive for COVID-19.
I fear that the next casualty will be large AI hotels. It is a disaster waiting to happen even though here in DR many have open air dining facilities and a lot of the activity is outdoors. The problem is the number of occupants will be at it's maximum over the next several weeks and Omicron is so transmitable and evades vaccines. With no testing on arrival in DR and no vaccination mandate there will be large breakouts of infections as people party on their vacations and lose self control with the free drinks.
I don't think the DR government has planned fully for Omicron arriving alongside Delta so quickly and fiercely. The hotel health protocols needed updating yesterday for this variant imo.