UPDATE:

In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, our scheduled cruise ships have been pushed back to begin docking with passengers disembarking this summer. Additionally, the Port of Astoria is considering allowing passenger- less cruise ships that are “in limbo” to dock in Astoria citing that as long as crew remain on the ships, the risks are low. 

We cannot let this happen!

Re: Docking the “in limbo” ships:

Will there be safeguards/ police on duty 24-7 to ensure the crew doesn’t come ashore?

How do the ships plan to cross the bar and dock at our Port without their captains and crews coming into contact with bar pilots, river pilots or port workers?

It is now known that the COVID-19 virus lingered in cabins on the Diamond Princess for 17 days. 

Port could park cruise ships in limbo over virus

Re: Cruise ship schedule resuming this summer

Lead infectious disease experts from around the world agree that the COVID-19 Pandemic could last a year or more while we wait for a vaccine. 

Cruise ships carry thousands of passengers from all parts of the country and the world. There has never been a worse time for this type of travel. If just one person on a ship has been exposed, their exposure spreads to all the other passengers and then every person and object they come in contact with when they disembark the ship. 

Our hospitals are small. An outbreak of this virus in the county would rapidly overwhelm our healthcare resources. It’s not worth the risk!

We understand the Port of Astoria is in need of revenue but there has never been a worse time for this type of travel. These ships are putting the health and safety of our community as risk. 

Astoria City Council: Don’t merely postpone the ships; cancel them entirely. 

 

 

 

For many years, Astoria has been overrun with thousands of cruise ship passengers disembarking at our port. Last year, with two ships in town at once, we had over 9,000 passengers in town at one time- just under our local population. This year, we are poised to have more than twice as many ships as any year before. 

There are a number of reasons that locals feel the cruise ships do more harm than help. They are listed below. 

•When cruise ship passengers are in town, many locals either stay home or leave town to avoid the crowds. They has a negative impact on our quality of life. 

 

•Public health: Astoria has a size-able elderly population. In light of the recent Coronavirus outbreak, it is irresponsible to expose our residents to unnecessary health risks. 

“Something that’s important, that I hope the American people appreciate is that the risk of getting into trouble with this infection, namely if you are infected, is overwhelmingly weighted toward people with underlying conditions and the elderly,” said Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

 

Astoria has become a tourist destination in an of itself with tens of thousands of people traveling here by way of car and bus every year. We, unlike isolated towns such as Kodiak, Alaska, do not rely on ships to support our economy. Our hotels sell out every summer as it is. We do not rely solely on mega cruise ship tourism. 

Please sign this petition for the betterment of our town- for our quality of life and for our health.