A chartered aircraft carrying 17 American passengers evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship in Tenerife is en route to Nebraska after one traveller reportedly tested positive for hantavirus despite showing no symptoms.
U.S. health authorities confirmed late Sunday that one of the evacuated Americans had tested positive for the virus.
Officials, however, noted that the passenger was asymptomatic.
The group was removed from the MV Hondius after the vessel docked in Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands located off the coast of West Africa. The charter flight was expected to arrive in Omaha, Nebraska, early Monday morning.
Initially, the passengers were to be transferred to the University of Nebraska, home to a federally funded quarantine facility, where officials planned to assess whether any individuals had close contact with symptomatic passengers and evaluate their potential risk of spreading the virus.
“One passenger will be transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while other passengers will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring. The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms,” stated Kayla Thomas, a spokesperson for The Nebraska Medical Center.
The MV Hondius reached Tenerife on Sunday, prompting Spanish authorities to begin a nationality-based evacuation process. Passengers were ferried from the cruise ship to the port using smaller boats. The World Health Organization said it aimed to complete the evacuation of everyone except 30 crew members remaining aboard by 7 p.m. Monday.
Travellers were instructed to leave their luggage behind on the vessel and permitted to carry only a small bag containing essential belongings, including passports and mobile phones.
Late Sunday night, World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X: “Most passengers and crew of the MV Hondius cruise ship successfully disembarked today.”
British passengers returning home will be required to undergo a 45-day self-isolation period and will not be allowed to use public transportation while travelling to their residences. Following the isolation period, health officials will determine whether passengers can continue isolating at home or in another suitable location based on their living arrangements.
In a statement shared on X, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Thank you to all those who worked around the clock to get passengers from MV Hondius back to the UK by special flight this evening with public health protections in place. The UK has worked with Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and the WHO to coordinate safe returns.”
