90-Second Read: Passengers from virus-stricken cruise ship fly to home countries for monitoring

The last remaining passengers on a cruise ship hit by a deadly Hantavirus outbreak disembarked and boarded flights to more than 20 countries to enter quarantine. The captain of the Hantavirus-stricken ship thanked his crew and passengers for their 'unity' and 'strength' in a video message released on Monday. Passengers are sprayed with disinfectant by Spanish government officials before boarding a plane after disembarking from the Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. The first plane carrying passengers from the cruise ship left Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday for Madrid, where they will be taken to a military hospital. A plane carrying American passengers, who were evacuated from a Hantavirus-hit cruise ship, landed in Omaha, Nebraska early Monday.

Health authorities say it's the first-ever Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. He added that WHO cannot enforce its guidance, and that different countries may handle monitoring of passengers without symptoms in different ways. Gratz) The first plane carrying passengers from the cruise ship left Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday for Madrid, where they will be taken to a military hospital. While there is no cure or vaccine for Hantavirus, the WHO says early detection and treatment improves survival rates.

None of the more than 140 people aboard has shown symptoms of the virus, according to authorities. They were being assessed to determine if they had close contact with any symptomatic people and their risk levels for spreading the virus. An American who tested positive for Hantavirus on the cruise chip was taken to the Omaha campus' biocontainment unit and will be tested again. Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. Passengers began flying home aboard military and government planes Sunday after the MV Hondius anchored in the Canary Islands.

The French woman who tested positive for the Hantavirus is in intensive care in stable condition at a Paris hospital, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Monday. AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports the French health minister says the condition of a French woman with Hantavirus has worsened. One of them has mild symptoms and will be tested for Hantavirus. It wasn't until early May that the WHO said it was reacting to a suspected Hantavirus outbreak on the ship, which by that time was off the West African island nation of Cape Verde. South African health authorities said on Monday that the condition of a British man admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg and being treated for Hantavirus was gradually improving.