Medical professionals from the Canary Islands Health Service's Directorate General of Public Health have conducted a study entitled "COVID-19 Prevention on Cruise Ships: Real-World Experience in the Canary Islands," which demonstrates that cruise travel during the COVID-19 pandemic is safe. The study, authored by Eva Elisa Álvarez León, Dulce María Fernández-Nakoura, and Elena López-Villarrubia, along with the Director General of Public Health, José Juan Alemán Sánchez, has been published in the international scientific journal *Journal of Travel Medicine*. It summarizes the work carried out by the Directorate General of Public Health in tracing, managing, and treating confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection detected on cruise ships that arrived in the islands between November 2020 and May 2021, as reported by the regional government.
The study period encompasses the activity of five European cruise ships sailing through the Canary Islands on itineraries lasting between 7 and 14 days, carrying over 100,000 passengers and more than 3,000 crew members. The coordinated work and effective communication between the medical staff on each cruise ship, the shipping agents, the port authorities, and the Canary Islands Health Service's Directorate General of Public Health are noteworthy.
On the cruise ships included in the study, 19 passengers and one crew member tested positive, of whom only two required hospitalization. According to the study data, 96 passengers had to quarantine due to close contact with those who tested positive. They were housed in various tourist accommodations on the islands to ensure compliance with preventative measures to avoid virus transmission and were closely monitored by private medical services for the possible development of symptoms consistent with SARS-CoV-2 infection. After completing their isolation and quarantine periods, they returned to their countries of origin.
The study concludes that, thanks to established protocols, both cruise passengers and crew members on board these ships sailed safely, with few Covid-19 infections and no major coronavirus outbreaks. All the preventative measures—regular screening, thorough epidemiological control, and the rapid disembarkation under medical supervision of confirmed cases and close contacts—prevented further spread of the coronavirus.
