Cruise lines are working on implementing new health protocols to resume sailings and there is a new cruise passenger and crew health monitoring system that could be coming to help them out.
New Shipboard Passenger & Crew Health Monitoring
Making sure passengers and crew members can remain safe for when cruises resume is now the priority for cruise lines. The netTALK MARITIME Integrated Passenger and Crew Communications Experience has joined with the Tritan Software SeaCare platform to introduce new options to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and other potential outbreaks on cruise ships.
The companies are already in discussion with the major cruise lines to implement the new health measures that include frequent, critical, real-time health information to be sent electronically to the ship’s medical team without any initial physical interaction required, embarkation screenings, tracking and more.
The platform will provide reassurances to those booking cruises and Tritan Software SeaCare makes sure any regulations are followed from agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It will also be integrated into any cruise line dedicated app system.
Nick Kyriakides of netTALK Maritime commented to Cruise Hive:
“This solution is critical for cruise lines to be able to monitor, contact trace and minimize visits to the medical center, since people can chat or have a video consultation with an onboard or shoreside doctor, while guests and crew are quarantined in their cabin.”
It all begins with a screening process before the voyage begins, likely during embarkation. This includes heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature, blood oxygen, a chat questionnaire and of course photo ID is needed. Here are the benefits of using the health platform for embarkation, debarkation and during the cruise:
Guest-Screening Solution
- At guest check-in – to prevent boarding a sick guest.
- When guest disembarks and embarks at port of call – to prevent
spread of disease to the local population and to quarantine
guest immediately to protect the other passengers. - Within public areas of ship ± to prevent contamination of large
gatherings.
Crew-Screening Solution
- Before crew boards ship – to prevent boarding a sick worker.
- Auditable screening at various key points (such as before
entering passenger cabins before manning workstations) and at
scheduled times – to verify ongoing health of worker and that
he or she is safe to work around other crew and guests.
Screening Triggers
- Screening results can trigger action and review by ship’s
medical staff so quarantine can be initiated if needed. - Integration with Tele-Medicine providers enables remote
diagnostics and review, so the proper diagnosis can be made,
and the appropriate treatment begun.
Guest/Crew Virtual Check-Up Inside Cabin During Quarantine
- Using the netTALK MARITIME Shipboard Communication
platform, medical staff can communicate via
Voice/Video/Walkie-Talkie/Chat with guests and crew in
quarantine and allow shore-side doctors to speak directly with
the patient. - End-to-end encryption is provided on one-to-one voice and
video calls between patients and medical staff. - Check vital-sign diagnostics via mobile phone camera.
- Geo-fencing feature alerts staff if a quarantined passenger
leaves his or her cabin.
If a person does become contagious, other passengers who have may have had significant contact with the infected can be traced and then resulting in them being tested and quarantined if needed. It is important to also know that the ID of the guest remains private and is only attached to the public once an infection is confirmed. So here are the main features which allows this process:
- Tracing is based on controlled public spaces, such as Dining Room, Show Lounge, Casino, Bars, etc.
- Each guest has an anonymized public ID and can be tracked via the mobile app on the passenger’s phone, cruise line issued wearable and also via advanced multi-camera surveillance video analytics for proximity detection.
- Guests scan their QR code or manually enter their public ID into the device of a supervisor in a Hub.
- Contact-tracing algorithms enable the contacts of identified infected guests to be tracked and indicate guests with suspected infections to engage in safety protocols.
- Only when there is an “infection case” (positively infected or suspected) will personal data be appended. This can be done with or without extra permission of the guest.
- Using the netTALK MARITIME Shipboard Communication platform, affected guests can be notified by messaging system and/or voice calls by staff.
The platform goes even further by helping cruise lines know guest locations and patterns of movement around the vessel. netTalk MARITIME is embedded within the cruise line’s own app so it is likely they will have it on them when going around the ship. Also, it provides messaging services, directions, and a range of ways to keep inc communication with the cruise experience.
Also Read: Carnival Cruise Line to Implement Thermal Cameras for Health Screenings
One of the reasons why cruise lines have extended the pause on operations is for more time to implement new health measures, Adding new options to cruise apps and ways to activate on each cruise ship can be a complex process, we’ll just have to wait and see what each cruise line eventually decides on doing along with guidance from health authorities.
