Plans in place to bring Irish passengers on virus-hit ship home, say officials

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

Plans are in place to bring home the two Irish nationals on board a virus-hit cruise ship, the Department of Health has said.

Three people have died following an outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius, which is expected to dock in Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, early on Sunday.

In a statement the department said public health protocols will be followed once the ship has docked to assess and certify the health of passengers on board.

This will be overseen by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and Spanish authorities.

Depending on their health when they disembark, the two Irish passengers will be transferred “directly” to Ireland.

Once in the country, they will be taken to a Health Service Executive (HSE) facility where they will be monitored while quarantining.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “If they become symptomatic, they will be assessed and treated as appropriate.”

The EU’s Emergency Response Co-ordination Centre has arranged for a medical evacuation aircraft to be available on the Spanish island for passengers who become symptomatic.

Both Irish passengers are said to be “well”, but authorities say if they become symptomatic before disembarkation, they will be medically evacuated on this aircraft.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Saturday that there were currently no symptomatic passengers on board the ship.

The Department of Health says it, and the HSE, are monitoring the situation “closely” and are working with the WHO, EU bodies and member states and officials in Northern Ireland.

Both the ECDC and WHO have said the risk to public health from hantavirus is low.

But the Department of Health has said an incident management team at the National Health Protection Office (NHPO) has been stood up and is co-ordinating the public health response.

The WHO said there had been six confirmed hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius ship and that four patients were currently in hospital.

It added that a total of eight cases, including three deaths, had been reported – with one suspected case being reclassified after testing negative for hantavirus.