The US Department of Health said on Sunday that one of the 17 Americans being repatriated from the cruise ship affected by an hantavirus outbreak tested positive for the virus.
"One passenger currently has mild symptoms and another passenger tested positive in the PCR test for the Andes strain," said the US Department of Health.
Additionally, the French Minister of Health has confirmed the country's first positive case. It was already known that one of the five evacuated French citizens showed symptoms during the flight, reported French Prime Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, in a statement. All were placed in strict isolation, and it is planned for them to undergo testing. The passengers were evacuated from the MV Hondius after arriving in Tenerife.
The Ministry of Health of Spain, the World Health Organization, and the cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions had previously stated that none of the over 140 people who were on board the Hondius at the time had shown symptoms of the virus.
The cruise ship will depart for the Netherlands this afternoon
During the morning, the MV Hondius is carrying out refueling and provisioning tasks. In the afternoon, the last repatriation flights, corresponding to Australia and the Netherlands, will depart from Tenerife.
The ship will then set sail for the Netherlands with part of the passengers' luggage for disinfection and with the body of the deceased person on board, following the agreed protocols, reports Cristina G. Lucio.
A British man hospitalized in South Africa for hantavirus "clinically improving"
A British man who was admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg after falling ill with hantavirus on board a luxury cruise ship is "clinically improving," a spokesman for the South African Ministry of Health told Reuters on Monday.
"The British patient is clinically improving, but still ill," said the spokesman Foster Mohale. "This means that his condition is improving, gradually." This British citizen was admitted to the ICU in serious condition.
Guterres expresses support for the Spanish Government for its handling of the cruise ship evacuation
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, conveyed a message of support to the Spanish Government for its handling of the evacuation of the occupants of the MV Hondius cruise ship, where a hantavirus outbreak was declared.
He extended this support to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the other entities that participated in this health operation, in which passengers disembarked on Sunday following strict protocols to ensure the safety of the population of Tenerife.
"Although the current public health risk posed by the virus remains low, it is important that international health measures ensure the safety of everyone, including the passengers and crew of the MV Hondius," Guterres stated in a social media post.
The 14 Spaniards from the cruise ship spend the night calmly and symptom-free at the Gómez Ulla hospital
The 14 Spanish passengers from the MV Hondius ship spent the night calmly and without symptoms at the Gómez Ulla hospital in Madrid, where they have been admitted since Sunday afternoon for a quarantine period in an isolation ward, according to EFE.
The 14 Spanish citizens arrived at the health center at 4:27 p.m. on Sunday, escorted by a National Police van and several motorcycle officers, and upon arrival, as established in the protocol approved by the Public Health Commission on Friday, they underwent a PCR test, the results of which will be known this afternoon, once 24 hours have passed.
During the quarantine period, which will be determined based on the evolution of the situation, active surveillance will be carried out, including recording the temperature twice a day to detect any early symptoms compatible with the infection, and the cruise passengers must remain in individual rooms and without receiving visitors.