• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
Wind and Solar Cheaper than Gas Plants in Ontario and Alberta, Study Shows February 7, 2023
AI Predicts World Over 1.5°C Limit by 2030, Undercuts Climate Progress Reports February 7, 2023
February Brings Record Cold, Widespread Power Outages to Much of North America February 7, 2023
Solar Geoengineering Banned in Mexico After ‘Rogue’ Stunt February 7, 2023
Lithium Mine Divides Nemaska Cree Over Impacts, Benefits February 7, 2023
Next
Prev

Cruise Ships Hosting 5,000 COP 26 Staff Could Trigger Wave of Local COVID Infections, Officials Warn

October 17, 2021
Reading time: 3 minutes

United States Navy/Wikimedia Commons

United States Navy/Wikimedia Commons

1
SHARES
 

Public health experts are warning that two huge cruise ships intended to house up to 5,000 staff during the United Nations climate conference, COP 26, could cause COVID-19 outbreaks and set off a new wave of infections in the host city, Glasgow.

A public health advisor to the Scottish government, Devi Sridhar, “previously called cruise ships floating ‘germ factories’ and urged holiday-makers to avoid them,” Glasgow Live reports. “I would say, as a public health person, don’t go on a cruise ship ever,” Sridhar told an audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival over the summer. “I just think cruise ships and infectious diseases are, they’re not meant to go together.”

  • Be among the first to read The Energy Mix Weekender
  • A brand new weekly digest containing exclusive and essential climate stories from around the world.
  • The Weekender:The climate news you need.
Subscribe

But with an estimated 25,000 participants and staff onsite for the high-stakes conference, “COP 26 organizers have sourced two ships from an Estonian operator to provide accommodation for ‘security and production staff’ amid a shortage of hotel rooms and soaring room rates in Glasgow,” Glasgow Live says.

The MS Romantika, with capacity for 2,500 people, is already in its berth on the River Clyde, the local news report states. The MS Silja Europa, with space for 3,123, will follow. Staff will take shuttle buses between the ships and the conference site while the two-week event is under way.

“We already saw for the G7 Summit in Cornwall the dramatic rise is cases following the meeting,” said Dr. Jeremy Rossman, an honourary senior lecturer in virology at the University of Kent. “It is very possible something similar could occur with the COP 26 meeting unless significant precautions are taken, which, given the easing of restrictions in Scotland, appears unlikely.”

Rossman warned that accommodating that many people on cruise ships will increase the risk. 

“As with any indoor environment, measures can be taken to minimize virus transmission. However, the close spaces of a cruise ship, combined with many shared spaces and support staff, creates a high risk of virus transmission,” he added. “Even with precautions taken on cruise ships, we have still seen outbreaks occur. As the guests on the ships will be moving back and forth from the city and meeting site, the risks of virus transmission further increase.”

“Cruise ships are likely places with high transmission of COVID because of enclosed spaces, especially if there is poor ventilation where people come into close contact,” said University of Edinburgh epidemiology professor Dr. Rowland Kao. “Given how transmissible the Delta variant is, even to vaccinated individuals there will be risks. So lots of testing is going to be important.”

But those practicalities may not be top of mind for the UK politicians responsible for hosting COP 26. “Insisting on COP in November is all about ‘global Britain’ post-Brexit, a top player on the world scene,” and “the glorious finish to UK’s G7 presidency,” muttered one veteran COP watcher in an email yesterday. “If COP 26 flops, and 1.5°C is not kept alive, well, we did our best! So what’s a few thousand COVID attacks or fatalities? [The reaction will be that] maybe they didn’t wash hands, wear masks.”

Stirling University public health specialist Prof. Andrew Watterson said Glasgow residents are entitled to “much more information” on the risk and measures to control it.

“If the cruise ship occupants come from all over the world, and if there are not rigorous requirements on vaccination and testing along with onboard COVID mitigation measures, the cruise ships could prove to be sources of significant virus transmission in the city,” he said. “Being in the one port for several days with ship occupants possibly moving around the central belt and beyond may present unusual COVID control challenges.”

For months, key negotiators involved with the COP have been warning about poor communication from the UK Presidency on pandemic control measures, shifting rules on the quarantine restrictions international delegates can expect to face, and a growing concern that delegates from developing countries on the front lines of both the pandemic and the climate emergency will be excluded from a crucial set of negotiations. In early September, Climate Action Network-International called for COP 26 to be postponed because of the UK government’s failure to ensure pandemic safety, particularly for delegates from the Global South.



in Climate & Society, Climate Impacts & Adaptation, COP Conferences, Health & Safety

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Peoplepoweredbyenergy/Wikimedia Commons
Ending Emissions

Wind and Solar Cheaper than Gas Plants in Ontario and Alberta, Study Shows

February 7, 2023
309
The hottest summer days in a typical New York City year are now about 11 times more frequent than in the 19th century. Image: Andreas Komodromos via Flickr
Carbon Levels & Measurement

AI Predicts World Over 1.5°C Limit by 2030, Undercuts Climate Progress Reports

February 7, 2023
82
Andre Carrotflower/wikimedia commons
Severe Storms & Flooding

February Brings Record Cold, Widespread Power Outages to Much of North America

February 7, 2023
46

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Peoplepoweredbyenergy/Wikimedia Commons

Wind and Solar Cheaper than Gas Plants in Ontario and Alberta, Study Shows

February 7, 2023
309
Beckyq6937/Wikimedia Commons

Solar Geoengineering Banned in Mexico After ‘Rogue’ Stunt

February 7, 2023
134
Michael E. Brunk/flickr

Green Building ‘Heroes’, Climate Contrarian ‘Zombies’, Shell Lawsuits, and ‘Sponge Cities’ to Solve Flooding

February 7, 2023
113
Peter Broster/wikimedia commons

Ottawa Mulls Higher-Speed Trains on Busy Toronto-Quebec City Corridor

February 7, 2023
99
The hottest summer days in a typical New York City year are now about 11 times more frequent than in the 19th century. Image: Andreas Komodromos via Flickr

AI Predicts World Over 1.5°C Limit by 2030, Undercuts Climate Progress Reports

February 7, 2023
82
Brian Robert Marshall/Geograph

Canada’s Solid Renewables Growth Falls Short of Net-Zero Ambitions

February 7, 2023
77

Recent Posts

Andre Carrotflower/wikimedia commons

February Brings Record Cold, Widespread Power Outages to Much of North America

February 7, 2023
46
Nemaska Lithium/Facebook

Lithium Mine Divides Nemaska Cree Over Impacts, Benefits

February 7, 2023
28
Mike Mozart/Flickr

BP Predicts Faster Oil and Gas Decline as Clean Energy Spending Hits $1.1T in 2022

February 4, 2023
366
Gina Dittmer/PublicDomainPictures

Canada Needs Oil and Gas Emissions Cap to Hit 2030 Goal: NZAB

January 31, 2023
214
CONFENIAE

Ecuador’s Amazon Drilling Plan Shows Need for Fossil Non-Proliferation Treaty

January 31, 2023
82
Ken Teegardin www.SeniorLiving.Org/flickr

Virtual Power Plants Hit an ‘Inflection Point’

January 31, 2023
142
Next Post
Albert Bridge/geograph

Regulator Rules Out Train as Cause of Lytton Wildfire Without Interviewing Locals

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}