A passenger of a cruise ship that was struck by an outbreak of hantavirus has shown symptoms of the disease while being repatriated to France, the country’s prime minister has said.
Sébastien Lecornu said the French national developed symptoms while on a chartered flight from Tenerife to Paris, and so all five evacuated from the MV Hondius had been “immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice”.
The French citizens are among more than 90 tourists to be ferried home from the Dutch vessel on Sunday, which anchored off the Canary Islands before dawn.
Three passengers have died after travelling on the ship, two of whom were confirmed to have had the virus.
After the French flight touched down at Le Bourget Airport, officials wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) could be seen meeting them on the tarmac. Ambulances then took them to the Bichat hospital in the French capital.
There, they will be quarantined for 72 hours and given a full assessment, before being sent home to self-isolate for 45 days, France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Fourteen Spanish nationals flown from Tenerife to Madrid now face mandatory quarantine at a military hospital in the Spanish capital.
British nationals have been flown back to Manchester. None of the Britons have reported symptoms but they are being monitored, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
A plane carrying 26 passengers and crew – including eight Dutch nationals – has arrived in the Netherlands.
A flight departed on Sunday for the US carrying 18 people – all of the American passengers from the cruise and one British national who resides in the US.
One of the Americans began showing mild symptoms of hantavirus and another tested mildly positive for the Andes strain of the virus after being evacuated from the cruise ship, the US Department of Health and Human Services said.
Both passengers were “travelling in the plane’s biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution,” HHS said.
Flights for Turkish and Irish citizens were also scheduled on Sunday, while Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said the final two evacuation flights would depart on Monday afternoon.
