Carnival Corporation has offered the use of the company’s ships as floating hospitals.
“Carnival Corporation and its brands are calling on governments and health authorities to consider using cruise ships as temporary healthcare facilities to treat non-COVID-19 patients, freeing up additional space and expanding capacity in land-based hospitals to treat cases of COVID-19,” the company said in a statement.
But one caveat, the use of the ships isn’t a donation, The Washington Post reported. “Interested parties will be asked to cover only the essential costs of the ship’s operation while in port," the company said.
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Ships crew would be in charge of food service, cleaning and normal operations. Government and hospitals would be in charge of the medical side, the Post reported.
The company said the ships can be transformed into up to 1,000 hospital rooms that could be equipped with remote patient monitoring technology that could monitor cardiac function, respiratory function and oxygen levels.
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The ships could also be isolated by deck for multiple medical functions, the company said.
This would not be out of the ordinary to transform from catering to vacationers to helping the country during times of emergency.
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Ocean liners were drafted into service during World War I and World War II as troop transports, stripping the ships of their high-class amenities to basic necessities, USA Today reported.
Everything was put back to normal after the wars.
