Seventeen American Passengers Quarantine in Nebraska After Andes Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondius

Seventeen American passengers aboard the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak, will quarantine at a Nebraska facility that specializes in handling patients with highly communicable diseases, health officials said.

“Based on facts observed and verified directly by our reporters or by informed sources”

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NBC News reported that the ship is expected to arrive in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday, where a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet the American passengers, and the State Department is arranging a repatriation flight back to the U.S.

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Dr. Michael Wadman, medical director of the National Quarantine Unit on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus in Omaha, said teams there will assess the passengers and determine any necessary quarantine measures, and that they will also be monitored daily.

Dr. Angela Hewlett, medical director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, said the current outbreak is not at Covid levels and emphasized that the outbreak is “not at Covid levels.”

The World Health Organization said Friday that six confirmed cases of the Andes hantavirus have been confirmed and two cases are probable, and it reported that two people with confirmed cases and one person with a probable case have died.

As the MV Hondius approaches Tenerife, the BBC reported that the ship is scheduled to moor off Tenerife between 03:00 and 05:00 GMT on Sunday, with passengers disembarking in groups by nationality and the cruise continuing its voyage to the Netherlands to be disinfected.

The Guardian said passengers from the UK on board the hantavirus-afflicted cruise ship heading for Tenerife will be flown to Merseyside on Sunday for hospital quarantine at Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral, which hosted British people returning from China at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The Guardian reported that all 146 passengers of the MV Hondius will be screened for the infection in Tenerife on Sunday morning before being transferred to their home countries, and it said the vessel will anchor off the coast near the southern commercial port of Granadilla.

The Irish News said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) expects 22 British passengers and crew on board the MV Hondius to reach Tenerife on Sunday, and it said they will be housed in an accommodation block on the Arrowe Park site away from the hospital’s public areas.

The Irish News also quoted Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at UKHSA, saying, “We continue to work at pace with our international partners to ensure the safe repatriation of British nationals from the MV Hondius.”

In Tenerife, the BBC described a mix of uncertainty and anger as the cruise ship MV Hondius approaches, with dockworkers gathering in front of the Canary Islands Parliament in Santa Cruz and protesting the risk they said the imminent arrival could pose to their health.

The BBC quoted Joana Batista, of a local port workers' union, saying, “We are outraged that we are allowed to work in a port without special safety measures or information when an infected ship is approaching,” and it reported that some colleagues threatened to block the ship’s arrival if demands were not met.

The BBC also reported that the Spanish government agreed with the World Health Organization (WHO) that passengers of the vessel may disembark this weekend, and it said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will arrive on Saturday to help coordinate the operation.

In a letter addressed to the people of Tenerife, the BBC reported that Tedros wrote, “The risk to you, in your daily life in Tenerife, is low,” and it said the WHO director-general reiterated that the virus aboard the MV Hondius is the Andes strain of hantavirus.

The BBC added that authorities insisted there will be no contact between passengers and local residents, who “will be absolutely protected,” according to Virginia Barcones, Director of Civil Protection, as the evacuation is expected to take place between Sunday noon and Monday afternoon.