'Unconscionable to keep them on cruise ship’: WHOs Gostin warns against repeating COVID-era mistakes

"You can't really confine people on a ship," argues Gostin, "especially if there's a transmissible virus on board, and keep them there without medical care, without quarantine facilities. That's unacceptable." 

At the heart of his intervention lies a sharp critique of political hesitation in moments of public health uncertainty. “You can’t really confine people on a ship,” he insists, calling it “unacceptable” and ultimately “unconscionable” to leave potentially infected passengers isolated without proper treatment or quarantine infrastructure.

While acknowledging Cape Verde’s limited medical capacities, Gostin emphasizes that international law places obligations on wealthier jurisdictions capable of responding, arguing that Spain would be required to let them in: "The Canary Islands, which is a Spanish jurisdiction, certainly has advanced medical care and should be able to provide the medical intensive services that these sick passengers need." 

Gostin frames the crisis within a broader framework of global health governance, scientific uncertainty, and the fragile lessons inherited from COVID-19. His remarks also expand into a broader critique of cruise ship public health standards, warning that modern maritime tourism remains deeply vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks ranging from hantavirus to norovirus. Asked whether he himself would ever take a cruise, Gostin replies with understated candor: “I wouldn’t be afraid, but I wouldn’t put myself to that kind of exposure.”

Produced by François Picard, Ilayda Habip and Guillaume Gougeon