Hantavirus outbreak: Australians to return to NSW, QLD via Perth, waiting on MV Hondius for charter flight

With stops planned for Perth, NSW and Queensland, four Aussies who are still being kept on a rat virus-infested cruise ship will soon be back within Australia’s borders, but a comprehensive plan is far from finalised.

The four Aussies were among 147 people on board the MV Hondius, which has become the centre of a concerning hantavirus outbreak.

Since they boarded the ship, three people have died from the virus that has ripped through the vessel, with five confirmed cases also being recorded, those amongst people already departed.

As the situation worsened, the ship sailed the seas until plans were finally made for a port to accept the virus-ridden ship and help those locked onboard.

Finally docked outside the Spanish island of Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, those onboard were finally allowed off, one by one, as nations around the world commenced a tightly controlled repatriation operation.

However, the four Australians on board have been forced to remain on the MV Hondius as the flight taking them back has not arrived in Tenerife yet.

Others have been ferried off the ship, forced to leave luggage behind, before being taken by bus under police guard, directly to their flight.

Although those allowed to disembark the ship were cleared by doctors before leaving, concern lingers as the virus can develop over a six-week period.

What happens when Australians taken off MV Hondius

The Australians onboard will need to wait until Monday morning (local time) before they can disembark, if cleared by doctors.

Authorities on the Spanish island have been strict in getting people off the ship. If the repatriation flight is not at the airport and ready to fly out, the passengers are not allowed off the rat disease-infested MV Hondius.

When Aussies are finally allowed off, after an extra night on board the ship, their repatriation flight will fly from Tenerife to Perth.

From there, details become a little unclear. It is understood that the Australians could be forced to quarantine or isolate for a period of 45 days.

The Australians who are being flown back are not from Western Australia. It is understood they are from New South Wales and Queensland.

It is understood that the plan is for passengers to be handed over to their states for local health authorities to manage the response, but no plans have been announced by NSW Health or Queensland Health yet.

No plans for a Western Australian quarantine stay have been announced either.

Health authorities around the world have different plans for passengers who are already travelling home.

In France, passengers were set for a 72-hour hospital quarantine, before a home isolation of 45 days. However, those plans have already been thrown into chaos after a passenger from the ship started showing symptoms on the repatriation flight.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers from the MV Hondius from Sunday.

NSW Health and Queensland Health did not immediately respond when approached by The Nightly on Monday morning.

DFAT has also been contacted for an update.

Labor says arrangements ‘still be finalised’

Environment Minister Murray Watt said quarantine arrangements for the arrival of the passengers were still being finalised.

“It’s a terrible situation that these people are in, going on a cruise expecting to have a nice holiday and finding themselves in this situation,” Senator Watt told ABC TV.

“We have agreed to repatriate a small number of Australians ... arrangements are being made with the states and territories around the quarantining of these people.”

Australian state health departments may look to the WHO for guidance on how to manage the four Australians.

They are recommending daily health checks of quarantined returned passengers, either in a specific specialised facility or at home.

However, WHO says countries are responsible for their own policies.

In the US, it is unclear how strict quarantine or isolation measures will be, with their Centre for Disease Control

Australia’s Centre for Disease Control last week attempted to bring calm to the growing public concern.

“Hantavirus is not new. It is a group of viruses found in different parts of the world, most commonly associated with rodents,” the group said in a statement.

“Although hantavirus infection is serious, the likelihood of it causing a widespread outbreak is very low.

“Human infection is rare and typically occurs through breathing in dust or air particles contaminated by the faeces, urine or nesting materials of infected rodents. It can also occur by direct contact with the urine, faeces or saliva of an infected rodent.

“Andes virus is a type of hantavirus that is affecting people onboard the cruise ship. Although very uncommon, the Andes virus can spread from an infected person who has symptoms through close and prolonged contact, such as people living together.

“There is no evidence of transmission from asymptomatic people.”

The virus, usually spread by rodents but also transmittable person-to-person in rare cases of close contact, was first detected by health officials in Johannesburg on May 2 treating a British man who fell ill and was taken into intensive care, 21 days after another passenger had died.

The man’s health has since improved, a WHO official said on Sunday.

The WHO said the first passenger who died on the ship may have been infected before boarding, possibly during travel in Argentina and Chile.

Eight people no longer on the ship have fallen ill, according to a WHO tally from Friday, of which six are confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Three have died - a Dutch couple and a German citizen.

Four remain hospitalised in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

- with AAP, Reuters