90-Second Read: Crosswords, novels and Netflix: What life's like in Hantavirus quarantine

Crosswords, novels and Netflix have helped keep boredom at bay for a New Zealander and five Australians at a Hantavirus quarantine facility. The group left the Perth venue at 3.45 am on Tuesday after staying there for six weeks because of an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius. One passenger, Australian Peter Marsh, told ABC, the quarantine was worthwhile to help keep people from getting sick but said he could not wait to hug his wife and see his children and grandchildren.

The passengers could choose what they wanted, they could say 'we want Thai tonight, or Chinese or Indian'....it was very democratic. McDermott was from the federally funded National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre in Darwin and had travelled to Perth to operate the quarantine facility at Bullsbrook, just out of Perth. There were 500 rooms but the group was just in one block.

There were daily health checks for symptoms and always a nurse on site. This group they were just such an excellent group of people to take care of in quarantine. The head of the facility, Kath McDermott said they had mostly been in good spirits, but morale was particularly high as home-time approached.