The cruise ship industry is returning to St. John’s this summer, and officials are allaying fears about the importation of COVID-19.

Thirty cruise ships will be docking in the harbour between June and October of this year, bringing in millions of dollars in revenue.

Councillor Debbie Hanlon says all crew and passengers must be fully vaccinated and have a negative test result before boarding the ship. However, in the event that cases do pop up on board, there are reporting mechanisms in place

Melissa Williams of the St. John’s Port Authority explains that there’s a 96-hour pre-arrival report that cruise ships have to fill out before entering Canadian waters. That report will now include information about any positive COVID cases, and about people who are symptomatic. That information then gets sent to the Public Health Agency of Canada, which then put the ship into one of four categories.

They are all based on the level of infection on the ship, with a red level being the highest. That designation will determine if any action is needed.