The Minister of Tourism, Gilson Machado, defended this week that the rules to control Covid-19 on cruise ships be relaxed to allow the resumption of travel, which was suspended due to the new cases registered on board. Within the companies that operate vessels along the Brazilian coast, however, the minister’s suggestion does not seem to be seen as the solution to the problem.
According to Marco Ferraz, president of Clia (an association that represents companies), the aim is to expand the application of tests to identify as many people as possible who may be contaminated and remove them from socializing with other guests.
“We want to continue with [viajantes] only vaccinated and tested worldwide. And even amplify the tests a bit. In the last scripts, we even did 100% additional testing on the terminal. The crew were being tested every other day. Precisely because whoever tests finds. We wanted to find the positives, isolate them and unload them”, says Ferraz.
According to him, this is how it happens in the US, Europe, the Caribbean. “And there was not this situation of complication in disembarkation and embarkation in the amount that we had here. There are processes that can be improved on our side and on the side of the authorities”, says Ferraz.
On Monday (3), Clia announced the suspension of operations in Brazilian ports until January 21. The measure was taken after the registration of Covid outbreaks on vessels, which led Anvisa to recommend the stop on a preventive basis.
The president of Clia says that the stoppage will serve to review the situation with the different authorities involved and establish new parameters, on both sides, to speed up procedures at the ports.
For Ferraz, the investigation carried out when there are cases of outbreaks on ships is what has taken longer, in addition to delays in loading and unloading. “We can bring information faster, digitally, so that they can make faster decisions”, he says.
with Ana Paula Branco e Andressa Motter
.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
