90-Second Read: WHO officials explain ‘high risk’ Hantavirus classification

The MV Hondius ship was on a cruise from Argentina to the Antarctic and then to several isolated islands in the South Atlantic Ocean when the Hantavirus outbreak was identified. Six passengers from a cruise ship hit by a Hantavirus outbreak arrived Friday in Australia for a quarantine expected to last at least three weeks. Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said the government would implement one of the world's strongest quarantine responses to the outbreak.

Three people among the 11 cases from the ship have died. With the evacuation of all passengers and many crew members completed, the MV Hondius is now sailing back to the Netherlands, where it will be cleaned and disinfected. The Gulfstream long-range business jet carrying them from the Netherlands landed at RAAF Base Pearce outside the Western Australia state capital, Perth.

The passengers, crew and a doctor who accompanied them were taken by bus to the nearby Bullsbrook quarantine facility. Get 24/7 fact-based news coverage with the NewsNation app or add NewsNation as a preferred source on Google!