Cleaning a floating petri dish: How is a cruise ship sanitized after a coronavirus outbreak?
Earlier this year, coronavirus lurked on Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess cruise ship. It eventually infected 712 people on board and killed 13, according to Johns Hopkins data.
The coronavirus, which has since evolved into a global pandemic, has shut down the cruise industry, leaving many wary of getting on a cruise ship in the future – especially one that has seen as many infections as the Diamond Princess.
After the final passengers and crew disembarked with the ship’s captain being the last person to depart the ship on March 1, according to a Princess Cruises Facebook post, cleaning was delayed. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then conducted an investigation on how the virus spread through the ship.
Then on March 31 – nearly a month after the chaos on board ended – Princess spokesperson Negin Kamali shared a statement with USA TODAY announcing that the vessel had been sanitized by BELFOR Property Restoration, which touts itself as “the world’s largest disaster restoration company.”
The cleaning job was complete and the vessel had been presented with a certificate from Japan’s health ministry, which confirmed the Diamond Princess to be “fit to sail,” with “no traces of COVID-19 on board,” according to the cruise line. The ship was quarantined off the coast of Yokohama, Japan, from Feb. 5-19 after the first cases were diagnosed.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for comment.
The Michigan-based sanitation company, which participated in cleanup after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, has been active throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, aiding sanitation efforts in hospitals, fire departments, arenas and airports, according to CEO Sheldon Yellen. BELFOR also helped to construct a drive-through testing facility in South Carolina.
“This is what we do, not just during this COVID-19 time, this is what we do,” Yellen told USA TODAY. “We have approximately 9,200 employees around the world, and they are full-time employees. These are people with years and years and years of experience.”
Cleaning the ship’s 18 decks, 1,300+ cabins and numerous common areas on Diamond Princess took the efforts of 240 workers from the company’s Japan and North American operations, including its environmental, HVAC and marine divisions. Yellen says all wore disposable biohazard suits, along with booties, gloves and full-face respirators. And it took nearly all of March to fully disinfect the ship.
Princess Cruises would not disclose the cost of the project.
How disinfection worked
BELFOR disinfected all public and crew access areas, staterooms, crew cabins, dining and entertainment areas on the Diamond Princess.
Because the ship had a confirmed COVID-19 contamination, the company performed what is known as a “level-three” cleanup, the most thorough of all cleanings.
BELFOR followed protocols established by the Arkansas-based consulting firm Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH), which served as the industrial hygienist on the job; the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; and Princess Cruises.
“Following recommended social distancing guidelines, crew members and the public should feel confident about boarding the Diamond Princess,” said CTEH’s Watts.
Additionally, any traces of coronavirus would likely be dead by now, according to officials, he noted.
“The vessel has now been empty for more than 45 days – significantly beyond health officials’ predictions for how long the virus is able to live on surfaces,” he added.
Just how long that is ranges from hours to days depending on the surface in question and the humidity of that environment, according to the World Health Organization. The CDC’s study found that genetic material from the coronavirus had lived on surfaces aboard the Diamond Princess as long as 17 days.
“Not a single space – not a room, a closet or a cubby hole on the Diamond Princess ship went without completing the disinfection protocol with scrutiny on several levels,” said Yacobellis. “The cleaning checks and cross-checks were above reproach.”
How confident is Yellen about the sanitation job his team did? He accepted Princess’ invitation to sail on the Diamond Princess’ first voyage after the pandemic has passed and says he plans to be on board – without any PPE this time.
Will the cruise industry make lasting changes?
Looking forward, Yellen said the best way to avoid another outbreak similar to the one that occurred on the Diamond Princess is to take preventative measures. Ongoing maintenance and housekeeping is “key,” he said.
Going forward, Princess Cruises said that new health protocols are going to be put in place.
“In addition to the sanitation efforts, our team of medical experts is actively developing a comprehensive set of new health protocols,” spokesperson Kamali told USA TODAY.
Some protocols have been enhanced or added since the COVID-19 outbreak began, such as health screenings including a thermal scan, free flowing hand sanitizer and increased cleaning. The enhancements are posted on the Princess Cruises website.
The Diamond Princess was not the only ship to be ravaged by coronavirus: the CDC released a report that identified more than 20 ships affected by the virus that made port calls or disembarked in the U.S., including other Princess ships.
At least 100 cases were linked to the Grand Princess with at least two people dying in March, and the Coral Princess had more than a dozen cases and at least two COVID-19 deaths when it docked in Miami earlier this month. A third died at a local hospital shortly afterward. And the Ruby Princess prompted a criminal investigation after it docked in Australia and disembarked 2,700 passengers and crew. It became the largest source of coronavirus in the country with more than 300 cases and more than 20 deaths linked to the ship.
‘Inherently high-risk setting’: Are cruise ships unsafe – and will they change?
When cruise lines do begin sailing once again, after the CDC’s no-sail order expires this summer, there could also be industry-wide steps taken to help avoid or deal with this kind of outbreak in the future.
Though the industry’s leading trade organization has not announced any long-term changes on ships in response to the coronavirus outbreak, some may be on the table.
“As cruise lines begin planning for the future, they are exploring ways to go further still to improve upon their already robust public health protocols, including additional screening requirements and enhanced sanitation measures,” Bari Golin-Blaugrund, senior director of strategic communications for Cruise Lines International Association, said Monday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that it is working on plans for preventing and containing further outbreaks of COVID-19 and other viruses on board cruise ships and noted they will be similar to its Vessel Sanitation Program, a protocol for dealing with gastrointestinal illnesses on board.
In fact, when the CDC issued its no-sail order extension on April 9, it required all ships that sail in U.S. waters to create plans to address coronavirus prevention and response.
“Ships are currently formulating similar plans to address outbreaks of COVID-19, and these plans could also be modified to prevent and respond to other communicable illnesses in the future,” Aimee Treffiletti, chief of the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program, told USA TODAY.
It remains to be seen what those tougher measures might entail. If rapid testing for the coronavirus becomes more readily available, that’s a possibility. It’s also unclear whether crew or passengers would be required to wear masks on board.
Cruise lines “have a duty to mitigate foreseeable risks,” said Jeff Ment, an attorney who specializes in representing travel companies. It “requires a plan, screening people, kicking off people who are sick.”
Would former passengers get back on?
John and Melanie Herring were on board the Diamond Princess when the ship was quarantined in Japan after the first few cases surfaced in early February. Over the course of the next two weeks, hundreds of people tested positive, including John.
John became ill during that period and was transported to Chiba University Hospital on Feb. 13, where he tested positive for coronavirus. He later recovered and returned home to Utah. Melanie left Japan on a U.S. charter flight on Feb. 16 and spent two weeks in isolation at Travis Air Force Base in California, along with other American passengers from the Diamond Princess. The couple didn’t see each other again until Melanie was released from quarantine and flew home to Utah in early March.
Despite that ordeal, John told USA TODAY that they would be willing to sail on the Diamond Princess again. (They are able to do so for free, thanks to Princess’ offer of a full cruise credit.)
“We are not afraid and look forward to traveling again as soon as possible,” he said. “If the Diamond Princess was going to ports we wanted to see, we would go back aboard.”
‘Inherently high-risk setting’:Are cruise ships unsafe – and will they change?
Diamond Princess, Grand Princess:Cruise line had high rates of illness even before coronavirus
Contributing: Chris Woodyard
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