Carnival Offers Use Of Cruise Ships As Temporary Hospitals

March 20, 2020

Carnival Corp. says it will make cruise ships available to serve as temporary hospitals in locations that need them to combat the Coronavirus.

Credit: Carnival Cruise

The world's largest cruise line says its ships could serve mainly to treat non-coronavirus patients, freeing up beds in land-based hospitals for those patients.

The company says ships can provide up to 1,000 hospital rooms and are able to be quickly provisioned with the necessary medical equipment, including intensive care units.

"These temporary cruise ship hospital rooms can be quickly converted to install and connect remote patient monitoring devices over the ship's high-speed network – providing cardiac, respiratory, oxygen saturation and video monitoring capabilities," Carnival said in a statement. "The rooms also have bathroom facilities, private balconies with access to sun and fresh air, as well as isolation capabilities, as needed."

Carnival crew would provide food and beverage, and cleaning services, with local medical personnel handling treatment, the statement said.

"With the continued spread of COVID-19 expected to exert added pressure on land-based healthcare facilities, including a possible shortage of hospital beds, Carnival Corporation and its brands are calling on governments and health authorities to consider using cruise ships as temporary healthcare facilities to treat non-COVID-19 patients, freeing up additional space and expanding capacity in land-based hospitals to treat cases of COVID-19," Carnival said.

President Trump said at a White House briefing that he would present the offer to New York and California during a teleconference will all 50 governors.