"Employees sue Celebrity Cruises over COVID-19 response", 15 Apr 2020

A class action lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of over a thousand Celebrity Cruises employees alleges the company failed to protect its crew members working aboard ships amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

...The lawsuit claims that the cruise industry received an "early warning of how easily COVID-19 could spread on massive ocean liners" when the first cases were reported on Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess... 

"Despite having notice that COVID-19 was and/or likely was present aboard the vessels," the complaint alleges the company allowed its employees to attend crew parties aboard the ships, eat in buffet settings and mandated their participation in shipboard drills.

...According to the CDC, over the last two months outbreaks on three cruise ships have caused more than 800 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States among passengers and crew, including 10 deaths...

...While guests have disembarked, and all major cruise lines have temporarily suspended passenger cruises in the U.S., many employees are still stuck at sea...

When asked for comment, Celebrity Cruises said it does not comment on pending litigation.