1 hour Ago
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the crew will remain in those cabins for the full six-week mandatory quarantine period, but that outcome is very much on the table. The Rotterdam-Rijnmond public health service will conduct hantavirus tests on both crew and medical staff as soon as they step off the vessel.
Who Is Still on Board
Right now, 27 people remain on the Hondius — 25 crew members and two employees from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. Of those, four Dutch nationals will serve their quarantine at home once they arrive. The remaining 23 are foreign crew members from the Philippines (17), Ukraine (4), Russia (1), and Poland (1), and they will be housed in the port cabins.
According to the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, no new suspected cases have been identified on board. He confirmed this after speaking directly with the ship's captain on Friday, which is at least some reassuring news amid an otherwise tense situation.
The Outbreak So Far
The Andes hantavirus outbreak on the Hondius has been severe. Eleven people have been confirmed infected, and three have died as a result. Before the ship set course for Rotterdam, roughly 150 passengers from 23 different countries were disembarked at Tenerife in the Canary Islands and flown home.
A separate group of evacuees who had already returned to the Netherlands were tested by health authorities, and all of them came back negative for hantavirus. That is a positive sign, though the situation continues to be closely monitored as the ship heads toward port.
