Federal COVID rules will be voluntary for cruise lines next year

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials have extended for nearly three more months its rules that cruise ships must follow to sail during the pandemic, adding that the government will move to a voluntary program next year.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the extension makes only “minor modifications” to rules already in effect. The agency said that after Jan. 15 it plans to move to a voluntary program for cruise companies to detect and control the spread of COVID-19 on their ships.

The current regulations, called a conditional sailing order, were scheduled to expire...