The Carnival Corporations has announced it will help by offering cruise ships for medical use around the world.
Carnival Ships To Be Offered as Hospitals
President Trump has said in a press briefing held today at the White House that he had spoken with Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison in using cruise ships for medical use. The cruise company has also announced select vessels can be used to help not just in the United States but other countries too across all its nine cruise brands.
We already know cruise ships are set to be used in various cities around the United States including New York, Los Angeles, and San Fransico. The ships have a huge capacity and would help aid those in need alongside Hospital ships like the one being based in New York.
Carnival stated in a press release:
If needed, cruise ships are capable of being quickly provisioned to serve as hospitals with up to 1,000 hospital rooms that can treat patients suffering from less critical, non-COVID-19 conditions. These temporary cruise ship hospital rooms can be quickly converted to install and connect remote patient monitoring devices over the ship’s high-speed network – providing cardiac, respiratory, oxygen saturation and video monitoring capabilities. The rooms also have bathroom facilities, private balconies with access to sun and fresh air, as well as isolation capabilities, as needed.
The cruise company has announced that all nine cruise brands are available to be used to help governments around the world and not just in the United States. This includes select ships from Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises and many more.
There are already vessels operated by Carnival Cruise Line docked in all the major cruise ports around the U.S. including ports in Florida, Texas, and Maryland. You can see where all the ships are being based right here.
Also stated by the Carnival Corporation:
Cruise ships being used as temporary hospital facilities to treat non-COVID-19 patients would have the ability to provide up to seven intensive care units (ICUs) in the ship’s medical center equipped with central cardiac monitoring, ventilators and other key medical devices and capabilities. Similar to land-based health facilities, cruise ships can also house multiple medical functions in disparate locations by using different decks on the ship to separate each required medical area.
Cruise ships being used would be berthed near local communities and crew members would remain onboard to keep the vessel in operations including supplies and cleaning. The government or hospital would be providing the medical side of things onboard.
Also Read: What Happens to the Crew Members Now Cruises Are Suspended?
It does make sense for Carnival ships to be used. Vessels have been used in the past for major disasters including Hurricanes which have impacted the United States, Bahamas and the Caribbean.
