Florida's Ron DeSantis Sues Federal Government Over COVID Cruise Ship Ban

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that he is suing the federal government over the COVID-19 cruise ship ban.

"We have tens of thousands of Floridians...throughout the state who depend on the viability of the cruise industry for their livelihoods, their jobs, and their ability to feed their families," DeSantis said during a press conference in Port Miami. "This is something that's being imposed, this shutdown, by the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and the federal government."

DeSantis added that while the unemployment rate in Florida is below the national average, it is much higher in Miami-Dade County due to the cruise shutdown.

"So, today I am happy to announce that on behalf of the tens of thousands of Floridians who's livelihood depends on the viability of an open cruise industry, today Florida's fighting back," he said. "We're filing a lawsuit against the federal government and the CDC demanding that our cruise ship's be reopened immediately."

He continued: "This will be something that we believe we have every legal right to insist upon. We don't believe the federal government has the right to mothball a major industry for over a year based on very little evidence and very little data."

The announcement by DeSantis comes shortly after the CDC issued updated that will eventually allow cruise ship sailing to resume in the U.S., but did not provide a specific date for when they will be allowed.

In March 2020, the CDC first announced its "no sail order," which prohibited cruise ships from leaving or entering any U.S. ports. This order was extended in October.

On April 2, the CDC issued the next phase of its "conditional sail order," which "will include simulated (trial) voyages that will allow crew and port personnel to practice new COVID-19 operational procedures with volunteers before sailing with passengers."

The conditional order also increases the reporting frequency of COVID-19 cases from weekly to daily, as well as "updating the color-coded system used to classify ships' status with respect to COVID-19."

While the conditional order provides new guidelines for cruise ships in the U.S., it did not say when these ships will be able to become fully operational as they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"CDC is committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising when it is safe to do so, following the phased approach outlined in the CSO (Conditional Sailing Order)," the CDC said in the updated guidance.

While DeSantis announced a lawsuit on Thursday, this is not the first time he has been critical of the CDC's no sail order.

"We have one of our major industries that has been idled by the federal government for over a year, the cruise-line industry," DeSantis said at a press conference on March 26. "We need to get these cruise lines operating again."

"In Florida, we have everything going on except the cruise lines because the federal government won't let the cruise lines sail," the Florida governor added.

Newsweek reached out to DeSantis and the CDC for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.