WASHINGTON - Federal health officials on Monday extended for nearly three more months its rules that cruise ships must follow to sail during the pandemic.The U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the extension makes only "minor modifications" to rules already in effect. The agency said that after Jan.
15, it plans to move to a voluntary program for cruise companies to detect and control the spread of COVID-19 on their ships.The current regulations, called a conditional sailing order, were scheduled to expire on Nov.
1.The CDC imposed the first no-sail order on cruise lines in March 2020, after most companies sailing in U.S. waters had agreed to suspend voyages.