Australians from virus-stricken cruise ship in change of plans for repatriation

The four Australian citizens, a permanent resident and a New Zealander who were expected to fly to Perth from Tenerife, now have to detour via the Netherlands.

After departing at around 6.20pm on Monday (3.20am AEST on Tuesday), they are now expected to travel around the European country under strict protocols for up to 48 hours before flying on.

Even that is just the beginning, as after landing at RAAF Pearce Base near Perth later this week they will be immediately transferred to the nearby Bullsbrook Center for National Resilience.

Hantavirus will be recorded under the Biosafety Act before they arrive, and an order will be issued to quarantine them for three weeks.

Health Minister Mark Butler said while the virus was “very, very rare” and human-to-human transmission was “even rarer”, he was taking a “precautionary approach”.

“As we enter that three-week period, we will be seeking further advice,” Butler said, adding that the incubation period for the virus is 42 days.

“I make no apologies for the fact that this is one of the stronger approaches you see around the world.”

The WHO recommends a quarantine period of 42 days. British passengers will be asked to isolate for up to 45 days, but public health specialists will assess whether they can do so at home or elsewhere.

The US has only said that the uninfected passengers will be taken to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring.

Staff in full-body protective clothing and breathing masks escorted travelers from the ship to shore on Tenerife as planes arrived to fly passengers from more than 20 countries in an evacuation effort that continued on Monday.

Three people have died since the outbreak began, and five people who left the ship earlier became infected.

One of the 17 US passengers evacuated from the ship and flown to Nebraska also tested positive for hantavirus but showed no symptoms, and another had mild symptoms, US health officials said late on Sunday (Monday AEST).

It was the first-ever case of a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness.

Health officials say the risk to the public is low

Hantavirus usually spreads through rodent feces and is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andean virus discovered in the cruise ship outbreak could potentially spread between people in rare cases.

Symptoms – including fever, chills and muscle aches – usually manifest between one and eight weeks after exposure.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that the general public should not worry about the outbreak.

“This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they should not be afraid and should not panic,” he said.

Kerkhove said the WHO recommends that passengers’ home countries have “active monitoring and follow-up, which means daily health checks at home or in a specialized facility.”

– Reported by Associated Press

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