MSC Cruises said that guests residing in countries who are unable to sail on the summer Mediterranean cruises will be contacted by the line with options.

In the U.S., MSC Cruises said its ships will only return to service once the necessary approvals have been received from the relevant local and national authorities, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as across regions where the ships will operate.

MSC Cruises has set up a cross-functional task force comprising in-house experts in medical services, public health and sanitation, hotel services, HVAC and other shipboard engineering services, information technology and logistics.

Aspen Medical and Expert Group

The line has hired global healthcare provider Aspen Medical to further assist with the development of the protocol and operating procedures.

In addition, MSC Cruises has established a “blue-ribbon” COVID Expert Group, bringing together the following highly qualified and internationally respected experts in the fields of medicine, public health and/or related scientific disciplines: 

• Christakis Hajichristodoulou, professor of hygiene and epidemiology at the Faculty of Medicine, as well as its vice president, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Greece
• Stephan J. Harbarth, hospital epidemiologist, infectious diseases specialist and head of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at the Geneva University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine
• Dr. Ian Norton, a specialist emergency physician with post graduate qualifications in surgery, international health and tropical medicine, currently managing director of Respond Global, formerly the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Medical Team Initiative program until January 2020.

In its press release, the cruise line said the new operating protocol is based on new data and research, as well as an improved understanding of the virus and how it behaves, plus taking advantage of the latest technology in screening and protecting people from possible contagion.