By
Rebecca Gibson |
Viking has become the first cruise operator to install a full-scale PCR laboratory onboard a ship, allowing it to perform daily non-invasive saliva tests on all guests and crew and rapidly identify Covid-19 cases.
Located onboard Viking Star, the new facility will undergo a series of extensive tests to ensure the procedures and protocols are fully effective.
“We have been working on this for a number of months, and today is important as it moves us one step closer to operating cruises again, without compromising the safety of our guests and crew,” said Matt Grimes, vice president of maritime operations at Viking. “The recently announced US Center for Disease Control guidelines are clearly aligned with our public health research, and we welcome the agency’s push toward testing, as we believe this is the only way to safely operate. In our view, continuous PCR testing, along with our extensive onboard hygiene protocols, will lead to making Viking ships a safe place to get away to and explore the world.”
Viking will demonstrate the PCR laboratory and its new operating procedures when Viking Star arrives in Oslo, Norway in mid-November.