90-Second Read: American passengers finally evacuated from Hantavirus cruise ship — here's where they're going now

The 17 Americans stranded aboard the Hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship have started evacuating the vessel and will soon be on their way to to the US for quarantine. Photos showed the passengers, clad in blue plastic ponchos, bouffant caps and medical facemasks, seated on a small boat after finally disembarking at the port of Grandilla de Abona in Tenerife in Canary Islands. Although the American passengers' first stop will be the quarantine facility, health officials are allowing them to check themselves out and go home, so long as they submit to six weeks of additional monitoring. The MV Hondius docked in the Spanish tourist hotspot Sunday to begin the weeklong evacuation process for the ship's 147 passengers, who hail from a dozen countries and were unloaded from the boat in groups by nationality.

The CDC will also deploy a team to Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska to "support public health assessment of returning passengers," the agency told ABC News. The World Health Organization has recommended a 42-day isolation period for the passengers of the ill-fated vessel, which departed from Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1. Acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya downplayed fears that the isolated outbreak would result in a COVID-19-like pandemic on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday morning.

The facility, the only federally-funded quarantine unit in the country, offers 20 single-occupancy rooms, each with their own private bathrooms, and are equipped with negative air pressure systems to ensure the safety of those potentially infected by infectious diseases. Rooms are outfitted with exercise equipment and even WiFi connectivity for patients requiring extended stays.