Without guests sailing from U.S. ports and a surge in COVID-19 cases in some parts of North America, Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation, said it’s not the right time to be releasing health protocols.

“We are all working on it. Internally, I assume (the CDC) are looking at things as well. The time will come when the U.S. society is in a better place to be socially gathering,” he told Cruise Industry News

“I think we’ve got to let this thing play out a bit so we are thinking about it in the right context at the right time.

“Having said that, we are engaged with scientists and medical experts around the world, and we continue to reach out to the CDC as well, to make certain we are informed to develop protocols just as we did in Germany.”

Germany is where cruising is about to get going, as Carnival’s AIDA brand is set to have three ships back sailing in August.

“So when the time is right and we can function in a way that is in the best interest of public health, we are prepared to do so,” Donald said, noting the industry will pool resources and ideas across companies.

“We’re not sailing any guests. We’re monitoring, we’re being informed by experts around the world. We work very closely with some of the best minds in the world. There is no reason to be talking about a lot of protocols if we’re not sailing anybody.”

Meanwhile, research and best practices to battle COVID-19 are constantly changing.

Donald pointed to temperature checks.

“A lot of science will tell you the temperature checks are indeterminate and not necessarily a good screen. Now, a lot of people do them because it gets people comfortable. This stuff is constantly evolving. To be a chatterbox right now about protocols doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Donald said it was simple. That when the company sails again, it will be in a way that serves the best interest in public health, operating in a way that aligns with society.