Cruise ship passengers on board for a month must disembark in the Canary Islands on Sunday morning. The five French nationals will undergo tests at the Pasteur Institute before being quarantined for several weeks.
After more than a month confined on board the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, passengers will finally set foot on land early Sunday, between 5 and 7 a.m. They will undergo initial medical examination to detect and isolate symptomatic individuals. Equipped with FFP2 masks, they will board small boats and be sorted according to their nationality.
Passengers will disembark in a staggered and orderly manner at the port of Granadella in Tenerife before being taken by bus to Tenerife-South Airport, located near the port. No contact will be made with the local population during these travels, promised the Spanish authorities responding to local concerns about hantavirus spread.
The five French passengers will be flown back specifically with protected flight personnel. They will land at an airport in the Parisian region, as reported by the Ministry of Health without specifying the exact airport.
They will then be expected at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, where they will undergo blood tests. Those testing positive will immediately enter the Epidemic and Biological Risk Control System. Positive cases will be isolated in negatively pressurized rooms with unique ventilation to reduce external contamination risks.
Passengers testing negative for hantavirus can return home but will face restrictions for six weeks following their disembarkation in Tenerife, which is the theoretical incubation period of the disease. Their social interactions will be limited, and they must wear surgical masks when going out. Regional health agencies will provide them with tailored health recommendations and monitor them for any symptoms.
As of now, none of the passengers onboard MV Hondius show symptoms of contamination. The latest WHO report from May 8 states that there have been a total of eight cases, with three deaths. Six cases have been confirmed as Andes hantavirus infections, the only strain known for interhuman transmission and a 38% fatality rate. Three cases involve Dutch and German passengers while three others were evacuated to Europe, one hospitalized in Johannesburg, South Africa, and another in Zurich, Switzerland.
