'Everything in place' for quarantine of Irish passengers

Intensive work has been carried out to make sure everything has been put in place for the safe quarantine of the two Irish passengers on board the vessel struck by an outbreak of the hantavirus, according to the interim Chief Medical Officer Professor Mary Horgan.

Three passengers from the MV Hondius, a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman, have died, while others have fallen sick with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents.

Spain's interior minister said repatriation flights with Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands as destinations have been organised.

The European Union is sending two further planes for remaining European citizens, Fernando Grande-Marlaska added.

The US and UK have confirmed planes and contingency plans were being arranged for non-EU citizens whose countries were unable to send air transport, he said.

Prof Horgan said the current quarantine period was 45 days but that Irish authorities would closely monitor the guidelines from the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC).

"The risk of human to human transmission for this virus is very low, this in not like Covid," she said.

"What is also important is not only is the transmission low but we're putting protocols in place so that there is even further confinement and that's the purpose of quarantine, is to really contain that infection but monitor people during that time, that they've no symptoms, to make sure they're looked after both physically and mentally.

Prof Horgan was speaking in Co Carlow where she is attending the Irish Pharmacy Union's annual conference.

She said there had been ongoing communication with passengers and with doctors from the HSE.

Prof Horgan said it was really important that protocols put in place by the ECDC are followed.

"We've been working very closely with our European partners to ensure they come back safely.

Thankfully they don't have any symptoms which is really good for them."
She said everyone in Ireland was wishing them well.

Prof Horgan said it was important more research and development be carried out to understand this virus and to develop vaccines and treatments.

"There is no direct medication or vaccination at the moment for this, but there is research going on in many universities, particularly the University of Oxford, looking at vaccines in this area so we will learn a lot."
Asked about the two Irish people who will be quarantined next week after their passenger ship docks in Tenerife, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said Irish doctors had been in contact with them, along with diplomats from the Irish Embassy in Madrid.

She said she hoped to speak to the two passengers herself in the coming days, about what supports they might need.

She said Irish authorities would work closely with the European Centre for Disease Control and European partners to ensure that they were all responding in the same way and taking the correct steps.

She said a meeting was held this morning to make sure this alignment was happening.

"They will need to isolate and that is all inkeeping with the ECDC protocol."
Minister Carroll MacNeill said the risk to the general population was very low, although she could understand why reports of the virus were generating concern.

"I've been briefed very clearly that there's a very, very low risk of human to human transmission," she said.

WHO chief heads to Tenerife with virus-hit ship to arrive
The World Health Organization's chief is due in the Spanish island of Tenerife to help coordinate the evacuation of passengers hit by the hantavirus, Spanish ministry sources said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez before heading to the Canary Islands to oversee the arrival of the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius, the Spanish Prime Minister's office announced.

Dr Tedros will accompany Spain's health and interior ministers to a command post there "to ensure coordination between administrations, health control, and the application of the planned surveillance and response protocols", the sources said.

The only hantavirus strain that can transmit from person to person, the Andes virus, has been confirmed among those who have tested positive, fuelling international concern.

The Dutch-flagged vessel, which has around 150 people on board, is expected to arrive at the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife tomorrow.

Earlier yesterday, the WHO said that the hantavirus outbreak posed a minimal risk to the general public.

"This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who's really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters.

A picture was emerging from MV Hondius where "even those who have been sharing cabins don't seem to be both infected in some cases", when one has fallen sick, he added.

"The virus is not that contagious that it easily jumps from person to person," he said.

The WHO said there were six confirmed out of eight suspected cases of the virus so far.

There are no suspected cases remaining on the ship.

Meanwhile, the United States said it was organising an evacuation flight for Americans on the MV Hondius that has sailed to the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain.

"The Department of State is arranging a repatriation flight to support the safe return of American passengers on this ship," a State Department spokesperson said.

The State Department said it was coordinating with the Spanish government as well as other US federal agencies.

"We are in direct communication with Americans on board and are prepared to provide consular assistance as soon as the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain," the spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.

The ship operator earlier said that 17 Americans were onboard.

The State Department did not immediately give a number of US passengers.

The US evacuation flight will then take the American cruise passengers to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, and then on to a national quarantine facility at the University of Nebraska Medical Centre, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.

"At this time, the risk to the American public remains extremely low," the CDC said.

Nebraska Medicine, a health care network, and the University of Nebraska Medical Center said that the US citizens will be cared for in the federally funded National Quarantine Unit.

"At this time, the individuals being monitored are well with no symptoms of illness," they said in a statement.

The World Health Organization has said that the United States is among 12 countries with nationals who have already left the ship, on the remote British island of Saint Helena on 24 April.

It comes as a provincial official in Argentina said that there is an "almost zero" chance that the Dutch man linked to the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius contracted the disease in the Argentine port of Ushuaia.

Juan Petrina, director of epidemiology for Tierra del Fuego province, where Ushuaia is located, told reporters that his assessment was based on the virus's incubation period, among other factors.