Carnival Corp offers ships for use as floating hospitals
Carnival Corp ships currently idle could be used to help to ease hospital bed space across the country as coronavirus cases continue to surge.
Carnival said cruise ships will be made available as floating medical facilities.
The ships wouldn’t directly house patients with covid-19 but would instead be used to treat others in order to free up bed space at hospitals on land.
President Trump said he has spoken to Carnival chairman Mickey Arison about the proposal.
Carnival said local governments and health authorities would only need to pay for essential costs of operating the ships while in port.
Carnival said ships can be adapted quickly to provide up to 1,000 hospital rooms to treat non-critical patients and vessels have up to seven intensive care units in their medical centers with cardiac monitoring equipment, ventilators and other medical devices.
The medical facilities and personnel would be provided by the relevant health authority while general ship operations, food and beverage, and cleaning services would be carried out by the ship’s crew.
The company has more than 100 ships currently idle after an industry-wide suspension of all cruise schedules came into effect earlier this month.
