The repatriation operation for passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, where hantavirus cases were detected, is currently underway after the vessel docked in the Canary Islands. Passengers and crew members disembarked under the supervision of international health authorities and were transported by military buses to Tenerife airport, from where they are departing on government and military aircraft sent by their home countries. According to Spanish authorities, the process was organized to ensure that passengers had no contact with the general public.
Although most passengers were asymptomatic at the time of disembarkation, several countries are now closely monitoring the situation following the detection of confirmed cases. A French passenger is hospitalized in critical condition in France after developing symptoms during her repatriation flight, while one American passenger tested positive without showing symptoms. A second American is experiencing mild symptoms and is undergoing laboratory testing.
Adonis Georgiadis stated that there is “absolutely no fear of hantavirus spreading in Greece.”
The Greek passenger from the ship was repatriated through a special operation by the Hellenic Air Force, accompanied by medical staff and officials from the National Public Health Organization (EODY). He is being kept under precautionary treatment in a negative-pressure isolation room at Attikon University Hospital, where he will remain in quarantine for 45 days, although he has shown no symptoms so far.
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis again stressed that there is “absolutely no fear of hantavirus spreading in Greece,” seeking to reassure the public following the repatriation of the Greek passenger.
Sources: Reuters [1], [2], Kathimerini [1], [2]
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