90-Second Read: Australia to Repatriate Passengers From Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship

Australia to Repatriate Passengers From Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship The cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a Hantavirus outbreak, at the port of Granadilla de Abona, in Tenerife, Spain, May 10, 2026. Spain's health minister said the final two flights to evacuate passengers, one flight from Australia and another from the Netherlands, would depart on Monday afternoon local time. The WHO has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers though global health experts have urged calm, reminding a public scarred from the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic that this virus was far less contagious and posed little risk to the general population. Track elected officials, research health conditions, and find news you can use in politics, business, health, and education. We have agreed to repatriate a small number of Australians...

It was not known if any of the people being brought to Australia have fallen ill or were showing ⁠symptoms ⁠of the virus. New Zealand said ⁠discussions were ongoing with international partners on options to repatriate a New Zealander aboard the ⁠cruise ship. Director of Public Health Corina Grey said in a statement on Monday that the country's health services had the capacity to support any quarantine measures if required. It had sailed from the southern tip of Argentina across the southern Atlantic and up to the Cape Verde islands.

The foreign ⁠ministry did not immediately respond to a request seeking more details about the evacuation. Eight people no longer on the MV Hondius have fallen ill, according ⁠to a World Health Organization tally from Friday, of which six are confirmed to have contracted the virus. After the outbreak was detected, the vessel left for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde. Davi Schulman and Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder May 7, 2026