First Covid-19 test lab on a cruise ship announced
Viking Cruises has announced that it’s completed installation of the first full-scale Covid-19 test lab at sea.
The new onboard facility will allow for unprecedented testing capacity in the cruise industry, enabling Viking to conduct PCR testing of all crew members and guests with a non-invasive saliva test. The laboratory has enough capacity for daily testing of every crew member and guest, which it says will provide flexibility to respond to Covid-19 prevalence levels around the world.
This first laboratory has been installed on Viking Star, the company’s award-winning 930-guest ocean vessel; it will undergo a series of extensive tests to ensure the procedures and protocols that have been designed are fully effective.
“We have been working on this for a number of months, and today is important as it moves us one step closer to operating cruises again, without compromising the safety of our guests and crew,” says Matt Grimes, Vice President of Maritime Operations for Viking. “The recently announced CDC guidelines are clearly aligned with our public health research, and we welcome the agency’s push toward testing, as we believe this is the only way to safely operate.
“In our view, continuous PCR testing, along with our extensive onboard hygiene protocols, will lead to making Viking ships a safe place to get away to and explore the world.”
Viking will be demonstrating the PCR laboratory, as well as new design and operating procedures, when the Viking Star arrives in Oslo, Norway in mid-November.
