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DeSantis, White House working to get cruise ships sailing

Rapid coronavirus testing, the governor said, could help toward getting the industry sailing again.

HEATHROW, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis said he's in contact with President Donald Trump to figure out ways to get cruises sailing to and from the Florida coastline once again.

The coronavirus pandemic and outbreaks of the virus onboard ships earlier in the year effectively shut down the industry, putting thousands of people out of work and hampering leisurely travel.

Speaking Tuesday during a roundtable discussion, DeSantis said he's been in touch with the White House for conversations about how to restart cruising. He figured it could be done safely, but it's not entirely without risk.

"Obviously that is going to be an environment that is [a] different level of risk than going to an outdoor football game or some of these other things," said DeSantis, who added rapid tests could be helpful toward the goal of getting cruise ships running again.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "No Sail Order" remains in effect through Oct. 31. Axios last month reported Director Robert Redfield was overruled when he pushed to extend the order into next year because of the severity of the coronavirus.

DeSantis stressed the cruise industry is important to the state and the livelihoods of thousands of people, and testing could be the key to reopening.

"Again, we have so many more tools now that we did before. I'm not saying they have to test every single that goes on the cruise ship but if they wanted to, they probably could now," DeSantis said. "... We should always try to figure out how can you get to yes, not just say we can't do something, say, no, we need to do it."

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