Italy all set to restart cruises from August 15

In the past few months, Italy had to suffer a lot from the pandemic. Now that the country’s Coronavirus situation is under control, the government is trying to rekindle its tourism industry. In a bid to restart things, the Italian government has allowed cruises to start operating from Saturday, August 15.

The months of February, March and April have been really horrific for Italy and it was one of the first countries to be hit by the virus. The country had to shut its borders to put a cap on the spread of the initial wave of the virus.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte relaxed the restrictions triggered by COVID-19 on cruise ship operations in the country, citing the reduction in virus cases to resume limited sailings out of Italy in the coming weeks.

So now Europe’s biggest cruise lines, MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises, return to service from Aug 15. Only 70 per cent of the ships will be filled to maintain social distancing.
Reportedly, Costa Cruises is getting all crew members back to their ships is planning to return to the seas. Besides Italy, other countries too have granted permissions to begin the cruise services. Both the cruise firms are prepared and are expected to be ready with all the health protocols.

MSC Cruises is planning to sail seven-night voyages out of Genoa to Civitavecchia, Naples and Palermo in Italy. Last month, Taiwan became the first country to restart its cruise service during the pandemic. Next in line are French Polynesia, Germany, and France. All these destinations have granted permission for cruises to resume.

Italy has recorded less than 300 new virus cases from the past several months, which is a positive news. The country has reported 251K COVID-19 positive cases till date and 35205 deaths.