FLORIDA, USA — On Friday, the state of Florida and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reached an impasse in federal court regarding the state's lawsuit against the agency regarding its cruise ship rules, court records show.
"Despite the party's good faith and concerted efforts, the settlement discussions have concluded and the parties have reached an impasse," court records stated.
In its lawsuit, Florida wanted the CDC’s conditional sailing rules suspended while the larger case itself is hashed out, arguing Florida is losing millions of dollars and people are out of work.
The CDC says there’s nothing in the court record to support that.
Judge Steve Merryday spent a lot of time Thursday asking both sides about the CDC restrictions and its conditional sailing order. The judge asked the CDC’s attorney whether its 95 percent vaccination, masks and social distancing rules are an overreach.
Judge Merryday was equally tough on the state of Florida, which has advocated for people to make up their own minds about the risk of sailing. But the judge said, in this case, private decisions can have public consequences.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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