Hantavirus cruise ship evacuation underway—where will passengers go next?
The cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak has arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands, with the operation to test passengers and crew and get them home underway.
The vessel, the MV Hondius, had been stranded for days as authorities debated how to safely handle the public health risk—which has left three people dead and several others infected. The ship has now anchored off the Spanish island of Tenerife, and the country’s health minister, Monica Garcia, said that the “unprecedented operation” was “proceeding normally” in comments to the press on Sunday.
Repatriation flights are expected to take place on Sunday and Monday, officials said.
International Response
The ship has become the focus of a coordinated operation involving Spanish authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO). Several nations, including the U.S., Germany and France have also sent aircraft to assist in the evacuation of their citizens.
Medical teams boarded the ship to test those onboard, and Garcia said on Sunday morning that the entire passenger group was without symptoms. According to an update from Oceanwide Expeditions, the operator of the luxury cruise, passengers will be “transferred immediately to their allocated aircraft” once disembarked, and will enter quarantine after returning to their home countries.
“The operation has been designed to avoid any contact with the local population,” Pedro Gullón, Spain’s general director of public health, said on Sunday. “Only the essential personnel, equipped with full personal protective equipment, participate in the loading and unloading tasks.”
What Will Happen to the Passengers?
Around 150 people were onboard the ship when the first reports of passengers with “severe respiratory illness” were made, according to the WHO. The agency said 34 passengers and crew had previously disembarked.
The multi-country effort to repatriate and quarantine those onboard the virus-stricken ship will occur in stages, and Garcia said that passengers would be ferried to shore via small boats by order of nationality. Buses would then take them to a local airport.
Spanish nationals are being transported first, followed by those being taken home by the Netherlands, Turkey, France, the U.K. and the U.S. The flights operated by the Netherlands will also carry passengers from Germany, Belgium and Greece to their respective countries.
A final flight will carry six passengers to Australia, while the remaining crew will stay onboard as the vessel sails to the Netherlands for disinfection.
Spanish nationals are being flown to Madrid and placed into quarantine at the Gomez Ulla military hospital.
The 17 American passengers will be transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The location is home to the National Quarantine Unit, a federally funded facility “specifically designed to provide first-class quarantine and isolation care to individuals exposed to highly hazardous communicable diseases.”
British passengers are being brought to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, according to a notice from the U.K. Health Security Agency. The hospital was previously used as a quarantine site in the early days of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
WHO Sends Message to Canary Islands
Tedros Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, has praised authorities for their response to the outbreak, and said risks to locals in Tenerife were minimal “because of the nature of the disease and the actions of the Spanish government.”
“I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now,” he said in a message posted to social media and on the agency’s website.
“The virus aboard the MV Hondius is the Andes strain of hantavirus. It is serious. Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families. The risk to you, living your daily life in Tenerife, is low.”
When approached for comment, the WHO directed Newsweek to its social media pages where it is providing regular updates on the evacuation mission.
American Doctor Talks About Caring for Sick During Cruise
Dr. Stephen Kornfeld from Bend, Oregon, is one of the passengers of the Hondius, and told ABC News he helped lead the onboard response after the outbreak was discovered.
“It just kind of escalated to within 24 hours after I stepped in,” he told the outlet. “One of the patients died and the other two, the physician and one of the other staff members, were getting progressively sicker, and then the first news of hantavirus came out.”
Kornfeld went on to say that no passengers had shown symptoms in recent days.
What We Know About ‘Patient Zero’
The WHO is currently investigating the source of the outbreak in coordination with authorities in Argentina and Chile. There has been a recent spike in recorded cases in Argentina, and officials note that a couple who died onboard the Hondius had been traveling in the country before embarking on April 1.
The agency said early investigation suggested “possible exposure to rodents during birdwatching activities.”
Dutch ornithologist Leo Schilperoord was earlier this week identified as the first known case in the outbreak, after falling ill during an April voyage in the South Atlantic.
Schilperoord, 70, and his wife Mirjam, 69, were experienced birdwatchers who had spent months traveling across South America before boarding the Hondius. Their journey took them through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.
What Happens Next?
The exact length of quarantine will depend on the host country. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said without symptoms individuals would likely be kept in isolation and monitored “for up to six weeks,” in line with WHO recommendations.
Norovirus Cases on Cruise Ship Docking in Florida
Separately, a norovirus outbreak on a Princess Cruises ship was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week. Some 102 of the 3,116 passengers, alongside 13 crew members, have been reported ill during the voyage, the agency said.
Affected passengers are being isolated, and the crew has its “cleaning and disinfection procedures” in response. The ship is set to arrive at Port Canaveral, Florida, on Monday.
