Madrid, Spain. Passengers and crew disembarked from a cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak on Sunday and were evacuated to their home countries for testing and isolation under national protocols.
Repatriation flights and medical response
Government planes carrying Spanish and French nationals landed in Madrid and Paris on Sunday afternoon, with passengers transported to hospital, according to the two countries’ governments.
One of the five French passengers showed symptoms during the repatriation flight, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X.
Additional departures scheduled
Flights to Canada, the Netherlands, Turkey, the UK, Ireland, and the United States were due to depart by 2030 local time (1830) on Sunday, with the final flights departing on Monday by 1900 local time.
Testing and isolation protocols
Passengers are to be tested upon arrival and then either taken to local hospitals or quarantine facilities or transported home for isolation.
WHO quarantine recommendation
The World Health Organization has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers from the boat starting Sunday, its director of epidemic and pandemic management Maria Van Kerkhove said in a briefing.
“Our recommendation is daily health checks, at home or in a specialized facility. It’s up to countries to develop their policies but our recommendations are very clear,” Van Kerkhove said, adding that the incubation period for the virus was up to six weeks.
Country-specific measures
Spanish passengers will be kept in hospital for the full 42 days, while French passengers will be hospitalised for 72 hours and then allowed home to self-isolate for a further 45 days, according to the respective governments.
Outbreak detection and patient update
The virus, usually spread by rodents but also transmittable person-to-person in rare cases of close contact, was first detected by health officials in Johannesburg on May 2 while treating a British man who fell ill and was taken into intensive care, 21 days after another passenger had died.
The man’s health has since improved, a WHO official said on Sunday.
What quarantine and testing steps apply to you if you were on the ship or had close contact with a returning passenger?
