Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Americans Aboard the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship.
Mateusz M PlucińskiMegan WallaceAnna UeharaEkaterina V KurbatovaFarrell A TobolowskyZachary D SchneiderAtsuyoshi IshizumiCatherine H BozioMiwako KobayashiMitsuru TodaAndrea StewartRiley L WagnerLeah F MoriartyRachel MurrayKrista QueenYing TaoClinton PadenMatthew R MauldinJing ZhangYan LiChristopher A ElkinsXiaoyan LuCarolyn T A HerzigRyan NovakWilliam BowerAlexandra M MedleyAnna M AcostaBarbara KnustPaul T CanteyNicki T PesikEric S HalseyMartin S CetronSuxiang TongBarbara J MarstonCindy R FriedmanPublished in: Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (2021)
Our findings highlight the high risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission on cruise ships. High rates of SARS-CoV-2 positivity in cabinmates of individuals with asymptomatic infections suggest that triage by symptom status in shared quarters is insufficient to halt transmission. A high rate of intensive care unit admission among older individuals complicates the prospect of future cruise travel during the pandemic, given typical cruise passenger demographics. The magnitude and severe outcomes of this outbreak were major factors contributing to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's decision to halt cruise ship travel in US waters in March 2020.