Carnival offers ships to governments for use as non-COVID-19 medical facilities
MIAMI, Fla. - Carnival cruise ships could become medical clinics if governments take the company up on its offer to use their boats to treat patients with non-COVID-19 medical conditions.
The cruise ship company said in a press release Thursday its cabins could be converted into hospital rooms to "help relieve pressure on land-based hospitals and free up capacity to care for cases of COVID-19."
Carnival said a ship can be "quickly provisioned" to become a 1,000-bed hospital, which could treat patients who have less critical ailments. The company said ships are equipped with high-speed networks that could handle the operation and monitoring of cardiac, respiratory, and video surveillance devices.
The ships also have isolation capabilities, the company said.
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Carnival said if its plan was put into place, a ship could provide everything from intensive care facilities to cafeteria services, in cooperation with government and medical officials.
Carnival said ships from its various global brands - Holland America, Princess, and P&O - could be used in this way.
"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's release stated.
At the time of this writing, it was not clear if any government agencies had taken Carnival up on its offer.
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