On Sunday May 10th, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed that out of the 17 American citizens evacuated from the Dutch cruise ship “MV Hondius” where the Han-Tan virus outbreak occurred, one individual tested positive for the “Andes strain” and another displayed mild symptoms.
Currently, these American passengers are being arranged by the State Department to be flown back to the United States and are expected to arrive in Nebraska for quarantine on Monday. For safety reasons, the patient who tested positive and the symptomatic passenger are being placed in biocontainment units on the plane during the flight.
Kayla Thomas, spokesperson for Nebraska Medicine, stated that “one passenger will be taken to the biocontainment unit upon arrival in Nebraska, while other passengers will be assessed and monitored by national quarantine units. The passenger taken to the biocontainment unit tested positive for the virus but is currently asymptomatic.”
As the “MV Hondius” docked in Tenerife, Spain, over 140 passengers and crew began disembarking one by one.
The scene was solemn, with all crew members and passengers wearing full-body protective gear and masks. Images provided by the Associated Press showed passengers being sprayed with disinfectant by government officials before boarding the plane on the tarmac.
Spanish passengers were the first to disembark and were airlifted to Madrid and then taken to a military hospital. Hours later, a plane carrying evacuated French passengers landed in Paris with ambulances on standby.
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that a Japanese citizen had arrived in the UK on a flight arranged by the British government and will undergo up to 45 days of health monitoring by UK authorities.
On Sunday evening, a Dutch evacuation flight landed in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Passengers disembarked wearing masks and carrying personal belongings in white plastic bags.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the plane carried 26 people, including 8 Dutch citizens, as well as individuals from India, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Ukraine, Guatemala, the Philippines, and Montenegro.
After the evacuated passengers return to their respective countries, each country will implement their own quarantine policies. Passengers will undergo hospital observation and long-term home health monitoring to prevent further virus spread.
The outbreak of the Han-Tan virus occurred onboard the “MV Hondius” while anchored off Cape Verde, resulting in 3 fatalities, including a Dutch couple, a German citizen, and several others infected.
Although the Andes virus strain that triggered the outbreak may have the potential for human-to-human transmission and a high mortality rate of 30% to 50%, experts emphasize that its spread is limited to “close and prolonged contact”.
WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus clarified, “We have repeated many times, this is not another COVID outbreak. The risk to the public is low, so there is no need for fear or panic.”
During the evacuation operation, a dramatic incident unfolded when the British Army Medical Services air-dropped to the remote island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic to urgently rescue a resident who had traveled on the cruise ship last month and was suspected of being infected with the Han-Tan virus.
As for the “MV Hondius,” after all passengers disembarked, some crew members will accompany a deceased person’s body to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for comprehensive disinfection procedures.