skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Cruise Ships and COVID: Know Before You Go

play audio
Play

Tuesday, June 15, 2021   

HOUSTON -- To vaccinate or not to vaccinate is a pending dilemma for passengers expecting to be welcomed aboard a cruise ship as the industry prepares a post-pandemic restart.

The Port of Galveston is the country's fourth-busiest, employing around 30,000 people. At the same time, new laws in Texas and Florida state you cannot be required to show proof of vaccination to any Texas business, including cruise personnel.

Dietrich von Biedenfeld, assistant professor in business law at the University of Houston-Downtown, expected to see some businesses offer rewards or incentives to customers who are vaccinated as they attempt to protect their economic interests.

"Republican governors are actually taking away that economy from these private actors by telling them, 'We know better than you do what your business model should be and how to do that,'" von Biedenfeld explained.

Last week, two passengers aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19. The Carnival Cruise Line expects to resume cruises from Galveston in the next few weeks, and will require vaccines of all passengers. Other cruise lines have said they may "strongly recommend" vaccinations, but not require them.

Von Bielefeld pointed out people waiting for their ship to launch typically spend money on hotels, restaurants and rental cars, and worried the Galveston economy could be hurt by Texas not requiring proof of vaccinations if cruise-goers with health conditions or a compromised immune system go elsewhere.

"We've heard the phrase, 'floating petri dish,'" von Bielefeld remarked. "It's not a very flattering term for cruise ships, because individuals are isolated, so there are other ports of entry in the United States for cruise lines, so you might take a cruise ship out of another state."

Ahead of the pandemic, cruise-ship embarkations in Galveston increased almost 11% in 2019, cracking the one million mark for the first time, according to a study from the Cruise Line International Association.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021