Today, I learned about:

I just heard an interesting piece of news. It seems that the WHO (World Health Organisation) and the WCSF (World Cruise Ship Federation), which has all the big cruise ship companies among its associates, are close to conclude a deal which may be a big relief for those people who need to be treated because of COVID-19, the corona virus pandemic that is keeping the world at a still.

The idea is that since WCSF cannot keep their ships running normally due to all docking restrictions, they want to show the world that their ships are not only meant for luxury cruises for those with plenty of money, but also for normal people who never would have a chance of coming close to such a ship. So instead of trying to find space for treatment in the saturated, normal health care system and its hospitals, the ships would be anchored on a sufficient distance from land to not disturb life on shore, and yet offer plenty of rooms and beds for the necessary health procedures and recovery.

Keep your eyes and ears open, the official announcement should come any minute now.

The idea of using a ship as a hospital is not new, there are indications that the Greek had some already in ancient times. The British included a hospital ship in their Navy in the 17th century, many hospital ships were of course used during World Wars I and II, and just two days ago, the USNS Confort docked in New York City to help treating corona patients there. See also references #1 and 2 below.

That’s what I learned in school !

Ref.:

1: Hospital ship

2: Everything you need to know about the USNS Comfort, the giant hospital ship in NYC

*: What did you learn in school today ?