Reuters
source: reuters
The hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius was due to dock in Rotterdam on Monday morning for disinfection, with Dutch authorities preparing quarantine arrangements for the 25 crew members and two medical staff remaining on board.
Local authorities said quarantine facilities had been set up for some of the non-Dutch crew, though it was not clear yet if they would stay there for the full recommended 42-day quarantine period.
The Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship had been carrying around 150 passengers and crew from 23 countries when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses among passengers was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2.
Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – have died since the start of the outbreak.
NOTHING LIKE COVID, SAYS WHO
The vessel, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, had been stranded off Cape Verde, its intended final destination, earlier this month after authorities barred passengers from going ashore due to the outbreak.
The WHO and the EU asked Spain to manage the evacuation at the Canary Islands, after which the ship departed for Rotterdam with a skeleton crew and two additional medical staff.
