SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Australia — Australia will charter a special evacuation flight for citizens stranded aboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, as authorities prepare quarantine measures for returning passengers.
Australian officials said Monday that passengers from the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius would soon be repatriated after several infections and deaths were linked to the vessel.
According to the World Health Organization, at least eight former passengers have fallen ill, six of whom were confirmed to have contracted hantavirus. Three people — including a Dutch couple and a German national — have died.
Australian Environment Minister Murray Watt said four Australians, one resident of Tenerife, and one New Zealand resident would be transported on an Australian government-supported flight.
“This is being done via an Australian government-supported flight, and we expect those people to return to Australia soon,” Watt told reporters in Canberra.
He said quarantine arrangements were still being finalised with Australian state and territory authorities.
Officials have not confirmed whether any of the evacuees are infected or displaying symptoms of the virus.
In neighbouring New Zealand, Director of Public Health Corina Grey said health services were prepared to support quarantine measures if necessary.
The cruise ship is currently anchored near Tenerife, the largest island in Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago.
Authorities said Spain, France, and the United States have already evacuated some of their citizens from the vessel.
Reports indicate one American passenger tested mildly positive for the virus, while another showed mild symptoms.
Spanish officials said the final evacuation flights, including those organised by Australia and the Netherlands, were expected to depart on Monday afternoon local time.
The WHO has recommended a 42-day quarantine period for all passengers connected to the outbreak.
Health experts, however, have urged calm, stressing that hantavirus is far less contagious than COVID-19 and poses a significantly lower public health risk.
Hantavirus is commonly spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings, although rare person-to-person transmission has been documented in close-contact settings.
The outbreak was first detected on May 2 in Johannesburg after a British passenger fell ill nearly three weeks following another passenger’s death.
The ship had sailed from the southern tip of Argentina across the South Atlantic before stopping near the coast of Cape Verde. After the outbreak emerged, the vessel departed for Spain last week.
Authorities continue monitoring passengers and crew as international health agencies coordinate containment and tracing efforts.
