The Premier of the Cayman Islands, Alden McLaughlin, has stated that he does not foresee the return of cruise ships to the islands in 2021.

“The cruise ship business is not really within our contemplation at this stage,” he said during the Q&A session at the press briefing on Jan. 7.

McLaughlin referred to cruise ships as “crucibles” for the coronavirus and said he does not think cruising will resume on a “significant level” before 2022.

“I think we would have to be satisfied that the world was in a very different place in terms of safety-related to the coronavirus before we would even consider having the cruise ships come here. They’ve demonstrated that they are really crucibles for the virus because of the way people have to live in such confined spaces and in such close contact with each other,” McLaughlin said.

Previously, Cayman authorities extended its cruise ban through Dec. 31, 2020.