90-Second Read: Hantavirus-hit ship starts unloading passengers for quarantine: Live updates

The cruise ship at the center of a Hantavirus outbreak arrived in Spain on Sunday, and officials started the process of moving groups of passengers back to their home countries to begin quarantining. The WHO has recommended a 42-day quarantine period for passengers aboard the ship starting from Sunday, and has assessed the virus' risk to the public is low. The overall risk to the general public remains low, as Hantaviruses do not spread easily like respiratory viruses such as flu or COVID-19. The passengers, who are not showing any symptoms of the virus, will board a flight back to Madrid on a Spanish military plane. The World Heath Organization said Friday that eight people had fallen ill in cases linked to the ship, including three who died − a.

Six of these people were confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another two suspected cases, the WHO said. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the WHO's Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, said last week that Hantavirus is very different from coronavirus and does not spread the same way. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship (and) there's a confined area... Once the MV Hondius anchored near Tenerife, Spanish nationals disembarked on small boats and were taken to shore, then transferred onto buses and taken to the local airport. Sukrut Dwivedi of Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center told USA TODAY.

They'll be taken to a hospital to be quarantined, government officials said. They will have no physical contact with members of the public. Americans will be taken to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, where they will be transported to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said. But this is not the same situation we were in six years ago." In a contained setting like a cruise ship, close quarters can amplify risk, infectious disease expert Dr.

Health authorities are appropriately emphasizing contact tracing, isolation and monitoring of close contacts.