Among those evacuated to the Netherlands by plane from the cruise liner MV Hondius, where a hantavirus outbreak occurred, were people from various countries, including Ukraine, AP reports, according to UNN.
Details
On Sunday evening, a Dutch evacuation plane landed in the city of Eindhoven. The disembarking passengers were wearing masks and carrying their belongings in white plastic bags.
Among the 26 people on board were eight Dutch citizens, as well as citizens of India, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Ukraine, Guatemala, the Philippines, and Montenegro
Dutch citizens are being transported home by medical transport and will remain in self-isolation for six weeks. "Local health services will organize quarantine locations for the others," the publication notes.
Some crew members, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the vessel, which will head to Rotterdam in the Netherlands for disinfection, Spanish authorities said. The journey to Rotterdam will take about five days, the cruise company reported.
Planes arriving in Tenerife were scheduled to fly out passengers from more than 20 countries as part of an evacuation operation expected to last until Monday. Spanish passengers were the first to leave the ship and were flown to Madrid and a military hospital. A few hours later, a plane with evacuated French passengers landed in Paris, where it was met by ambulances.
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Passengers were relieved by the news of returning home, a WHO representative said. "It was wonderful to see all these buses and people who were very happy to be on land again and return to their homeland," said Diana Rojas Alvarez, WHO health operations lead, who is in Tenerife.
Authorities stated that disembarking passengers and crew members would be screened for symptoms and prohibited from contacting the local population. They were to be removed from the ship only when evacuation flights were ready. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the Spanish Ministers of Health and Interior are overseeing the operation in Tenerife.
As indicated, all passengers were escorted from the ship to the shore by personnel in full protective gear and respirators. Passengers and crew members who came ashore left their luggage behind and were permitted to take only a small bag with essentials, a mobile phone, a charger, and documents.
The WHO recommends that passengers' countries of origin "ensure active monitoring and surveillance, which means daily health checks either at home or in a specialized facility," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the organization's technical lead on COVID-19 (chief epidemiologist).
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