A federal judge rejected the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) request to keep COVID-19 restrictions on cruise ships departing from Florida after July 18, writing the health agency cannot show a reason why it can exercise such power. The CDC had earlier asked for a stay to the injunction on its conditional sail order. With U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday in a ruling this week, the injunction on the “Conditional Sail Order”—a rule that forces cruise lines to have the necessary requirements and recommendations to sail (pdf)—will go ahead as planned on July 18. All cruises were shut down in March 2020 during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency later issued the Conditional Sail Order in October of last year. But, according to Merryday’s ruling Wednesday, the CDC’s “action is not about what health precautions against COVID-19 are necessary or helpful aboard a cruise ship.” Instead, …
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