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

Australia to Fly Citizens Home From Virus-Hit Cruise Ship, Plans Quarantine The cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a Hantavirus outbreak, at the port of Granadilla de Abona, in Tenerife, Spain, May 10, 2026. REUTERS/Hannah McKay SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, May ⁠11 (Reuters), ⁠Australia will charter a flight ⁠to evacuate its citizens from a Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship linked to a deadly Hantavirus outbreak, with returning passengers quarantined on arrival, the government said on Monday. Health Minister Mark Butler told a news conference the returning passengers will be quarantined at a facility ⁠in Western Australia for a minimum of three weeks.

Track elected officials, research health conditions, and find news you can use in politics, business, health, and education. 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. Environment Minister Murray Watt said four Australians, one resident of Tenerife and one resident of New Zealand will be repatriated.

Spain, France and the United States have evacuated their citizens from the MV Hondius, which has anchored near Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, officials said. The WHO has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers, while 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.