90-Second Read: Spanish cruise ship passenger tests positive for Hantavirus

A Dutch couple and a German passenger died, while the other cases are all linked to the vessel. Health officials said they had had close contact with infected passengers. A 65-year-old German woman died on board, while other passengers who fell sick included the ship's doctor and a replacement doctor who flew out to join the cruise. The Spanish health ministry said the patient had been in preventive quarantine at Gomez Ulla Hospital in Madrid since disembarking from the vessel in Tenerife on May 10.

The new case was not among the 27 crew members who stayed on board the ship after the other 122 passengers and crew were evacuated from Tenerife. Quarantining and monitoring will continue until June 21 beacuse the Andes virus has an incubation period of up to six weeks, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said. The WHO is working on the basis that the first passenger who died, a 70-year-old man from Haulerwijk in Friesland, was already infected when he boarded the ship.

The Vlissingen-registered vessel docked in Rotterdam last Monday where it underwent a deep cleaning process. Most of the crew members who stayed on board are from the Philippines and will have to spend spend six weeks quarantining in temporary buildings before they can go home. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said at the weekend that the outbreak was "stable for now". Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.