![\"\"](\"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/maxresdefault-2.jpg\")
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Many of us will still recall pictures of hundreds of thousands of\u202f<\/span>travellers<\/span>\u00a0stuck on board cruise ships<\/span><\/a>\u202f\u2014 holidaymakers who\u202fweren’t allowed to disembark and go back home because one or many passengers had been infected by the novel coronavirus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Knowing that your\u00a0<\/span>neighbo<\/span>u<\/span>r in the adjacent cabin has come\u202fdown with COVID-19 is not a pleasant experience. Though some may just have had a chronic cough \u2014 who knows? But how was one supposed to know how best to avoid getting infected when other people on the same deck were never far away?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One thing’s for sure: tour operators are bracing for a restart under different conditions. It’s no longer sufficient to just accommodate and feed passengers. New strategies\u00a0<\/span>must<\/span>\u00a0be developed to keep COVID-19 at bay.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There’s obviously no doubt that\u202f<\/span>cruise ships will continue to have a right to exist<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>According to a local tour operator, t<\/span>he general easing of coronavirus-related restrictions will enable many cruise ships to end their forced hibernation.\u00a0<\/span>He<\/span>\u00a0believes the ships can be operated safely again.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thinking about how economies will\u00a0<\/span>steer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>clear<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>out of the current crisis, experts have at least two potential scenarios in mind. If the crisis is severe but doesn’t last too long, a swift recovery is possible. If nations get stuck in\u00a0<\/span>several<\/span>\u00a0disruptions for a long time,\u00a0<\/span>there<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>will<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>be<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>slow progression of a crisis.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The\u00a0<\/span>same<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>tour<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>operator<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is optimistic that recovery is\u202ffollowing the\u00a0<\/span>former<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>path, citing its customers’ current booking\u00a0<\/span>behavio<\/span>u<\/span>r.\u00a0<\/span>Another<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>travel<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>agent<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>offer<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0a somewhat more differentiated view<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>stated<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0t<\/span>oward<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0the end of the year,\u202f<\/span>\u00a0a fast recovery\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>expected<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to kick in<\/span><\/a>, but it<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>wi<\/span>ll<\/span>\u00a0take some more time to completely reach pre-COVID-19 levels again.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span>our operators<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>ship<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>owners<\/span>\u00a0have to act immediately. Hygiene standards\u00a0<\/span>must<\/span>\u00a0be enhanced onboard to minimize the risk of infections. That’s no plain sailing, given that a cruise trip is a social event for many<\/span>. T<\/span>here will be\u202f<\/span>problems that won’t be easy to handle<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0Take the dining procedure<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>which<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is also perceived as a social event.\u00a0<\/span>E<\/span>ating your meal with others likely increases the risk of\u202fgetting\u202finfected.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>No<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>wonder<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>virologists<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>keep<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>saying<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>small<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>number<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>travellers<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>more than enough to start a new wave of infections.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many of us will still recall pictures of hundreds of thousands of\u202ftravellers\u00a0stuck on board cruise ships\u202f\u2014 holidaymakers who\u202fweren’t allowed to disembark and go back home because one or many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3860,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"issuem_issue":[175],"issuem_issue_categories":[7],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.8.8","language":"en","enabled_languages":["mt","en"],"languages":{"mt":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/3856"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3856"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/3856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3862,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/3856\/revisions\/3862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=3856"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=3856"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=3856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}