Amid the increase in the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in recent weeks, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) recommended to the federal government the definitive suspension of the cruise season in Brazil. The suggestion, made to the Ministry of Health and the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic, aims to avoid further contamination by the coronavirus.
“The protocols defined by Anvisa for the operation of cruise ships in Brazil brought devices that allowed monitoring the epidemiological scenario on the vessels for almost two months and were fundamental to quickly identify the change in the number of cases on board in the penultimate epidemiological week of 2021” , says a note sent by the regulatory agency this Wednesday (12).
On December 31, 2021, Anvisa had already recommended the temporary suspension of cruises, which was accepted by the government. The initial forecast was that the season would resume on January 21 this year.
“Since the temporary suspension recommendation, Anvisa has been evaluating the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemiological scenario on board ships and also in Brazil and in the world. It is observed that the scenario has become even more challenging in view, in particular, of the vertiginous increase in the number of cases on vessels and in Brazil”, adds the agency in an official statement.
In this way, the agency considers that “the current scenario is unfavorable to the continuity of cruise ship operations”.
“Dizzying increase in cases”
In a resolution published in October last year, Anvisa determined that, in order to embark, disembark and transport passengers, vessels should have a program for monitoring the health of passengers and crew.
This testing protocol, says Anvisa, “allowed the verification of a vertiginous increase in cases of Covid-19 on board vessels operating on the Brazilian coast, probably due to the emergence of the Ômicron variant”.
Balance made by the regulatory agency shows that, in the initial 55 days of the 2021/2022 cruise season, 31 cases were recorded on board vessels in Brazil. This period runs from November 1st to December 25th.
From there, in the 12-day period between December 26 and January 6, the number of coronavirus infections on ships jumped to 1,146. This represents an increase of almost 37 times.
ships stopped
Shortly after New Year’s Eve, on January 4, Brazil had four ships stopped on its coast with cases of Covid-19 among passengers and crew. These vessels were under sanitary supervision by Anvisa.
The cruises in this situation were MSC Splendida, MSC Preziosa, MSC Seaside, Costa Diadema and Costa Fascinosa.
Right move, says expert
In early January, shortly after the agency had recommended the temporary suspension, public health doctor Ana Freitas Ribeiro, from the Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas, said in an interview with CNN that the decision was correct.
“The main form of transmission is respiratory. Ventilation inside the cruises is more for air conditioning than natural ventilation”, he said. The specialist also stated that, even with the determination that the ships operate at 75% of capacity, it would be difficult to maintain the adequate distance inside the vessel.
Reference: CNN Brasil
