90-Second Read: First Passengers Evacuated From Hantavirus Cruise Ship Arrive in Home Countries

A flight to the Netherlands carrying 26 passengers, Dutch nationals as well as citizens of 10 other countries, landed in Eindhoven on Sunday evening. Spanish health minister Mónica García said that as of Sunday evening, 94 passengers have been evacuated from the MV Hondius. Since the MV Hondius departed from Argentina, six confirmed cases of Hantavirus and two suspected cases have been linked to the outbreak on the ship, and three passengers have died. Evacuations from the cruise ship at the center of the outbreak began on Sunday and are expected to last into Monday.

Passengers aboard the MV Hondius began evacuation from the vessel earlier in the day. The ship is anchored offshore in the Canary Islands, where passengers from different countries were being taken to Tenerife airport in military vehicles and sent to their respective home countries while avoiding contact with the public. Dutch nationals were transported home to isolate, while citizens of other countries were to stay at a "quarantine location." Twenty Britons arrived in the U.K. When they get home, they will likely be taken to isolation facilities while medical staff monitor their health.

The first group was seen wearing personal protective equipment, face masks, hazmat suits and respirators as a small boat brought them ashore around 9:30 a.m., before they were all taken to the Tenerife airport. Spain's health ministry said none of the first group to disembark exhibited symptoms of the virus. WHO officials said Sunday that the risk to the public remains "low," even as the president of the Canary Islands opposed the ship's docking, citing fear of infection risk and potential harm to the tourism economy. People should know these facilities were specifically designed to prevent exposure to the public.

The final two flights to evacuate passengers, one from Australia, and another from New Zealand, are slated to depart Monday afternoon local time. But not everyone will disembark: 30 crew members will remain on board the ship as it sails back to the Netherlands for disinfection. Officials added that quarantine must continue in each passenger's home country in order to ensure the disease does not spread.