Cruise industry leaders Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. have announced a collaboration to develop enhanced health and safety standards and protocols in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The companies have asked former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt and Dr. Scott Gottlieb to become co-chairs of the "Healthy Sail Panel," a newly formed expert group created by both cruise lines. The panel's main objective is to develop a series of recommendations to address the public health challenges posed by COVID-19, improve protocols and measures, and prepare for the safe resumption of cruise operations.
The group of experts has been working intensively for a month and will present its first recommendations at the end of August. Both cruise lines have stated that their work will be open source, meaning any company or industry can freely adopt it and benefit from the scientific and medical expertise of these renowned specialists.
“We are facing an unprecedented situation that requires the development of unique health and safety standards,” emphasized Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. “The addition of these respected experts as advisors in this process demonstrates our commitment to protecting our passengers, crew, and the communities we visit,” he noted.
“We compete daily in the business of attracting customers to enjoy their vacations, but we will never compete on anything related to health and safety protocols and standards,” said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “While the cruise industry has always had rigorous health and safety standards, the exceptional challenges posed by COVID-19 offer us an opportunity to raise that bar even higher,” he noted.
“Health and safety are top priorities for all CLIA cruise lines, as demonstrated by this initiative launched by two of our most important members. We applaud these actions, as well as the parallel efforts of all our members, who are working tirelessly to develop appropriate protocols based on the recommendations of health authorities and medical experts in the United States and other countries,” explained Kelly Craighead, President and CEO of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
Fain and Del Rio added that one of the panel's objectives is to ensure that the protocols submitted to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other regulators incorporate the best available knowledge in public health, science, and engineering. The panel's work will be shared with the entire industry and regulators.
“By convening the Healthy Sail Panel, we sought the participation of a diverse group of leading experts in areas of science and public health that are directly relevant to the considerations outlined in the No Sail Order,” said former Governor Leavitt. “We consider our work a profoundly important public health effort. The health and safety of passengers, crew, and the communities that cruise ships visit will be the primary focus of this project.”.
Dr. Gottlieb said: “We know that the public health challenges ahead are complex, and in some areas, addressing them will require innovative approaches. Our goal in assembling this team of leading experts was to develop best practices that can improve safety and provide a roadmap for reducing the risks of COVID-19.”.
The panel is co-chaired by former Governor Mike Leavitt, who also served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Panel members are globally recognized experts in diverse disciplines, including public health, infectious diseases, biosecurity, hospitality, and maritime operations.
These are the members of the expert panel:
- Former Governor Mike Leavitt, founder of Leavitt Partners, a company that provides investment support, data and analytics, member alliances, and direct-to-client services to support decision-making strategies in the value economy.
- Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a physician specializing in internal medicine and currently a resident member of the American Enterprise Institute.
- Helene Gayle MD, MPH, is the CEO of Chicago Community Trust, one of the leading community foundations in the United States. For nearly a decade, she served as president and CEO of CARE, a renowned international humanitarian organization. She is an expert in global development, humanitarian affairs, and health
- Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Officer at Merck, leading all aspects of strategic communications, global public policy, population health, and patient engagement. She is also a former Director of the CDC and a world-renowned public health expert.
- Steven Hinrichs, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and director of the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), as well as the University of Nebraska Center for Biosafety.
- Michael Osterholm, MD, PhD, is a leading U.S. expert in public health, infectious diseases, and biosecurity. As director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, he is an international leader in global pandemic management.
- Stephen Ostroff, MD, brings years of experience in public health, having served in senior positions at the FDA and the CDC. Ostroff was also director of the Office of Epidemiology and acting physician general for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and has been an international consultant on public health projects in South Asia and Latin America.
- William Rutala, PhD, MS, MPH, with extensive experience in the medical management of a variety of diseases and broad experience in the study of epidemiology and virology, particularly in the management of outbreaks and emerging pathogens.
- Kate Walsh, PhD, is Dean of the Cornell University School of Hotel Management and the E.M. Statler Professor. In addition to being the author and contributor to several books, Walsh's articles have been published in numerous prestigious research journals.
- Captain Patrik Dahlgren, Senior Vice President of Global Marine Operations and Fleet Optimization for all global brands of the Royal Caribbean Group.
- Robin Lindsay, Executive Vice President of Ship Operations at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
In addition, several experts will participate as key advisors to the panel, including Dr. Caitlin Rivers, professor and epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an expert in the epidemiology of emerging infectious diseases and outbreak science; and Dr. Phyllis Kozarsky, professor emerita of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine and an expert in pre-travel health education and counseling, global health, and the epidemiology of infections and travel-related infectious diseases. Dr. Kozarsky is an expert consultant to the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine on traveler health.
