Will Corona Bat Beer Virus End Alaska Cruise Ship Tours?

In 2020, it's expected that 606 cruise line sailings will carry about 1.41 million tourists to Alaska; a majority of them porting in Ketchikan first before sailing up the inside waters to destinations in Sitka and Juneau. The first ship will arrive in Ketchikan on April 25th bringing with them a crew of 910 and 2,680 passengers and if the schedule holds, Ketchikan and Alaska will have a 5th consecutive  record breaking visitors.

In short, Southeast, Alaska depends on tourism. Unfortunately, there could be a wrench in the cruise ship travel industry with two cruise ships already linked directly to the corona virus--one in Japan and one in New Jersey:

61 passengers on cruise ship quarantined in Japan test positive for coronavirus:

Dozens more passengers aboard a Princess Cruises ship in Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus. As of Friday, 41 more people, including eight Americans, had been confirmed to have the potentially lethal virus, bringing the total number of infected passengers to 61.

A total of 3,700 passengers and workers, including three Americans, are quarantined on the ship, which is harbored in the port city of Yokohama. Tests are pending on one remaining group of passengers who either showed symptoms or were in contact with a man who was diagnosed with the virus after leaving the ship in Hong Kong.

NBC New York:

More than two dozen Chinese nationals who traveled aboard a cruise ship that returned to New Jersey were screened for signs of the new virus that has sicked tens of thousands in mainland China and killed more than 600. Four of the passengers on the ship were taken to a hospital out of caution.

Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis tells NBC New York that one of the four travelers who had come from China for the Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas cruise through the Caribbean had a fever on the ship. The person was given Tylenol and the fever went away.

Three others are under close observation and they were taken to University Hospital in Newark, which has negative-pressure isolation rooms, the mayor said. Gov. Phil Murphy added that the hospital was following proper infection control protocols while evaluating the travelers.

How Serious is Corona Virus?

Always, always listen to John Cusack, unfortunately, as of this writing we weren't able to contact John for his opinion on the virus. Fortunately, it seems that this virus is contained in China and while it is distrupting tourism and the economy world-wide, it most likely won't impact us in an apocalyptic way.