FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) The U.S. Coast Guard has directed all cruise ships to prepare to treat any sick passengers and crew on board while being sequestered indefinitely offshore during the coronavirus pandemic.

The new rules require daily updates on each ships coronavirus caseload for vessels in U.S. waters, and come with a stiff warning: Any foreign-flagged vessels that loiter beyond U.S. territorial seas should try first to medically evacuate the very sick to those countries instead.

Many of South Floridas cruise ships are registered in the Bahamas, where hospital capacity is limited and people are still recovering from last years Hurricane Dorian.