The cruise ship industry effectively shut down in the middle of last March due to outbreaks of the coronavirus on several ships. The Center for Disease Control (C.D.C.) has issued a series of “No-Sail Orders” which have kept the ships in port ever since. 

Now the New York Times is reporting that the White House has blocked a new order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep cruise ships docked until mid-February, a step that would have displeased the politically powerful tourism industry in the crucial swing state of Florida.

The current “No Sail” policy is set to expire on Wednesday. Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the C.D.C., had recommended the extension, worried that cruise ships could become viral hot spots, as they did at the beginning of the pandemic.

The undermining of Redfield has been the source of much consternation among public health officials inside the administration, who argue that a politically motivated White House is ignoring the science and pushing too aggressively to reopen the economy and encourage large gatherings, according to Axios, which broke the story.

Public health officials have privately complained that the thwarting of Redfield on the cruise ship ban is politically motivated because the industry is a major economic presence in Florida — a key battleground state where the polls are statistically tied.

The White House denies politics played any role in the decision which will extend the ban to October 31, three days before the election. The date also coincides with a self-imposed industry ban on operations.

Earlier this year, one passenger infected with the coronavirus boarded the cruise ship Diamond Princess. Within a month, over 700 of the 3,711 passengers and crew members were infected and 14 had died.  

Attempts to restart cruise operations internationally have had mixed results. In early August, 41 passengers and crew on the Norwegian cruise ship, MS Roald Amundsen, tested positive for Covid-19. At the same time, the cruise ship Paul Gauguin returned to its homeport in Papeete, Tahiti after a passenger tested positive for the coronavirus.

This week, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 6 with 1,500 people aboard rerouted to Piraeus after sample testing of the crew showed 14 positive cases. Subsequent tests of the crew have come back negative. Officials concluded that the earlier results were false positives and allowed the ship to continue on its voyage.