Miami-Dade mayor asks CDC to reopen cruise industry
The mayor of Miami-Dade County asked the CDC to reopen cruise industry operations.
By Michael McGrady, Maritime Direct Americas & Pacific Correspondent
MIAMI — Danielle Levine Cava, the mayor of Miami-Dade County in Florida, sent a letter to Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), asking for a way for the cruise industry to restart operations by July of 2021.
Cava is the latest politician to call on the CDC to reopen cruises and bring back life, a vital component of South Florida’s economy. This includes pushing to adopt and operate with strong safety measures to ensure the virus can be contained on board. Via Cava, Miami-Dade County pledged its support in working with the CDC “to establish a plan to safely re-open the cruising industry.”
Coverage on the letter by CBS Miami indicates that Cava wants the CDC to restart cruise industry operations by July 4th — the United States independence day.
“Restarting cruising is critically important to saving hundreds of thousands of good-paying American jobs, including thousands of unionized longshore (ILA and ILWU) positions,” notes the letter. “In Miami-Dade County alone, cruise activity generates approximately $7 billion and 40,000 jobs annually. It supports multiple sectors of the economy from ground to air transportation, food and beverage, lodging, manufacturing, agriculture, travel agencies, hotels, port services, and a broad range of industries that stretch across the U.S.”
Michael Bayley, the president and chief executive officer at Royal Caribbean International, thanked Mayor Cava for the letter.
“Thankful for Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s partnership as we find our way back to service,” Bayley said in a Facebook post.
