SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Spain, May 11 – The last six passengers and some crew members of the MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, were preparing to leave the ship on Monday. The captain commended the...
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Spain, May 11 – The last six passengers and some crew members of the MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, were preparing to leave the ship on Monday. The captain commended their patience and discipline during what he called an "extremely challenging" few weeks.
The final group of passengers – four Australians, a British citizen living in Australia, and a New Zealander – were waiting to be taken off the MV Hondius, a polar expedition vessel, in small boats. They will be transferred to Tenerife for a flight back to the Netherlands, where they will quarantine.
Nineteen crew members and three doctors who assisted them were scheduled to fly to the Netherlands on an earlier flight, according to the Dutch Foreign Ministry.
After disembarking the passengers and crew, the MV Hondius will continue to the Netherlands, its flag state, with 26 remaining crew members aboard for disinfection, as stated by health authorities.
Captain Jan Dobrogowski, from the Netherlands, expressed his admiration for the passengers and crew, saying, "I could not imagine sailing through these circumstances with a better group of people," in a video shared on Oceanwide Expeditions' website.
This disembarkation marks the conclusion of a complicated operation, which has successfully evacuated 94 individuals back to their homes, 41 days after the MV Hondius departed from southern Argentina and nine days after the first positive case of the respiratory virus was reported.
Sadly, three people have died during this outbreak, including a Dutch couple and a German national.
On Monday, the World Health Organization reported seven confirmed cases of the Andes strain of hantavirus and two suspected cases, including one individual who died before testing and another on Tristan da Cunha, a remote island in the South Atlantic.
FRENCH WOMAN'S CONDITION DETERIORATING
Among the confirmed cases is a French passenger who tested positive after the ship arrived in the Canary Islands on Sunday. Unfortunately, her health is worsening, as noted by French Health Minister Stephanie Rist.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicated that one of the 17 Americans being repatriated had also tested mildly positive for the Andes virus. The Spanish Health Ministry mentioned that a test from another lab on a separate sample from that American had yielded inconclusive results.
Another American is experiencing mild symptoms.
As the MV Hondius neared the Canary Islands last week, Spain's health minister and the WHO confirmed that all passengers were "asymptomatic," despite protests from the regional government regarding the potential spread of the virus.
Results from tests on 14 Spanish passengers currently in quarantine at a military hospital in Madrid were expected later on Monday, according to the Spanish Health Ministry.
‘THIS IS NOT COVID’
The hantavirus is generally spread by wild rodents but can occasionally be transmitted between people through close contact.
Health officials have reassured the public, emphasizing that the virus does not easily spread between people and there is minimal risk to the general population, encouraging calm in a society still wary from the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time of the outbreak, the MV Hondius was carrying 147 passengers and crew members from 23 countries. The first reports of severe respiratory illnesses among passengers were made to the WHO on May 3.
Before reaching the Canary Islands, 34 passengers had already disembarked at different islands in the Atlantic. The cruise ship then proceeded to Cape Verde, where news of the outbreak emerged.
The outbreak was first identified by health officials in Johannesburg on May 2 while treating a British man who had disembarked from the vessel, roughly three weeks after the death of the first passenger, a Dutchman.
The cruise ship set off for Spain's Canary Islands on May 6 after Madrid agreed to a WHO request for assistance with the evacuation.
The WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine for all passengers, as stated by their director of epidemic and pandemic management, Maria Van Kerkhove, during a briefing.
On Monday, Marcello Cattani, leader of the Italian pharmaceutical lobby, mentioned at a conference in Milan that there is little need for a hantavirus vaccine. "Only a small number of citizens, fortunately, are involved," he said. He expressed confidence that the situation would not escalate into an outbreak requiring a vaccine.