Six travelers from a cruise vessel struck by a deadly hantavirus outbreak touched down in Australia on Friday, beginning what officials expect will be at least a three-week isolation period.
A Gulfstream business aircraft transported the passengers from the Netherlands to RAAF Base Pearce near Perth, the capital of Western Australia. From there, the group was transferred to the Bullsbrook isolation facility located nearby.
On Thursday, Australian Health Minister Mark Butler announced the government would put in place “one of the strongest quarantine arrangements in response to this virus outbreak you’ll find anywhere in the world.”
The group consists of five Australian nationals and one citizen of New Zealand, who will remain at the isolation center that has sat mostly empty since its construction in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials have not yet determined what additional safety measures may be needed for the remaining portion of the 42-day potential incubation timeframe identified by the World Health Organization, Butler explained.
According to Butler, other passengers from the cruise vessel MV Hondius who returned to the United States and Britain will complete most of their isolation periods in their own homes.
All six passengers showed negative test results for the virus prior to departing the Netherlands and have shown no signs of illness, Butler reported.
The hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius affected 11 people total, with three fatalities reported.
The vessel was traveling from Argentina to the Antarctic region and then to various remote islands in the South Atlantic Ocean when health officials identified the outbreak.
Now that all passengers and most crew members have been evacuated, the MV Hondius is returning to the Netherlands for thorough cleaning and sanitization procedures.
