90-Second Read: France confirms 1st Hantavirus case linked to MV Hondius outbreak

In Spain, health authorities said two women hospitalized in Barcelona and Alicante over suspected exposure to Hantavirus tested negative in PCR tests. Spanish Health Ministry officials said the 14 Spanish passengers who transferred and quarantined at Madrid's Gomez Ulla hospital on Sunday were in good condition. Hantavirus is a rare disease usually transmitted through infected rodents or their droppings, though the strain responsible for this outbreak can also spread between humans. The patient is a woman who was among five French nationals evacuated from the vessel and flown from Spain's Canary Islands to France on Sunday, Stephanie Rist told radio France Inter. Authorities have also identified 22 French nationals who were on earlier flights linked to the case cluster, including routes between Saint Helena and Johannesburg and between Johannesburg and.

Spain's Health Ministry said "all necessary measures" had been taken since the beginning of the operation to "break possible chains of transmission" following confirmation of two positive cases linked to the ship, an American and a French woman. It added that the ship would later depart for the Netherlands carrying part of the passengers' luggage for disinfection as well as the body of one of the deceased passengers, in line with agreed protocols. Meanwhile, Spain's Health Ministry rejected concerns raised by Canary Islands regional officials that rodents from the ship could reach shore and spread the virus, saying there were no rats aboard the vessel and describing such a scenario as highly unlikely. They added that the first week of quarantine for the Spanish passengers would be stricter, including repeated.

She developed symptoms during the evacuation flight between the Spanish island of Tenerife and France's Le Bourget airport near Paris. The four other French nationals tested negative for the virus but will remain in isolation for at least 15 days, the health minister said, adding that authorities can extend isolation measures under existing regulations. The Health Ministry said eight French nationals from the Saint Helena-Johannesburg flight were placed in isolation nearly a week ago, while others have been instructed to contact health authorities and self-isolate. The ministry said the MV Hondius was carrying out refueling and provisioning operations Monday morning, while the final repatriation flights to Australia and the Netherlands were expected to depart from Tenerife later in the day.