90-Second Read: Major update for Hantavirus passengers

Five Australians and one New Zealander were holed up in the quarantine facility for 42 days after being on-board a cruise ship exposed to the deadly Hantavirus. The cruise ship was exposed to a Hantavirus outbreak, which killed three people and infected 11 others. The six passengers were transported to the Bullsbrook quarantine base for 42 days, which Health Minister Mark Butler said was the "strongest" reaction in the world.

Five Australian citizens and a New Zealander were quarantining in RAAF Base Pearce near Perth for 42 days after being evacuated from the MS Hondius cruise ship in the Canary Islands in May. All six have regularly tested negative for the Hantavirus. On Tuesday, the first group of the six passengers were released from the quarantine facility, seen leaving the Bullbrook centre in a mini-van.

The quarantine facility in Bullsbrook, north of Perth, was built at the end of the Covid pandemic and is staffed with health professionals from the Darwin National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre.