The evacuation of all passengers from the MV Hondius took place between Sunday and Monday, after the cruise ship docked in Tenerife. Most of the 152 people on the cruise where the hantavirus outbreak started have been transported to their countries in several flights to France, Canada, United Kingdom, or Netherlands, and the boat will depart soon with 26 crew members to their final destination in Rotterdam.
Among those people evacuated, one tested positive with hantavirus: a French woman whose health was deteriorating and is now in a hospital in Paris. Two suspected cases identified by the Spanish government have tested negative.
A statement by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday said that, in total, there have been seven confirmed cases of hantavirus linked to the cruise outbreak. That doesn't include the first of three victims, who died before he could be tested, nor the American citizen whose positive was first reported on Monday as "mild positive" but is not clear, and is currently in a medical facility in Nebraska.
They warned that more infections could still emerge because the virus can have an incubation period of up to six weeks, but reminded that the risk of a mass outbreak is low. Most of them are now in isolation facilities at their respective countries, or will arrive in the coming hours, where they will remain at least 15 days.
