A French national showed symptoms while on a chartered flight from Tenerife to Paris, according to France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs; all five individuals evacuated from the MV Hondius were immediately placed in strict isolation upon arrival.

Evacuation and Quarantine Measures

The French national was among those evacuated and met by officials in personal protective equipment (PPE) at Le Bourget Airport. Ambulances transported them to Bichat hospital in Paris, where they will be quarantined for 72 hours for assessment before being sent home to self-isolate for 45 days.

Fourteen Spanish nationals were also evacuated to Madrid and now face mandatory quarantine at a military hospital — a plane carrying 26 passengers and crew, including eight Dutch nationals, arrived in the Netherlands. Flights for Turkish, U.S., and Irish citizens were also scheduled on Sunday.

International Repatriation Efforts

Spain’s Health Secretary Javier Padilla said more than 90 of the 150 passengers and crew from the Hondius would have been sent home by the end of Sunday. A flight to Australia is expected on Monday. The ship dropped anchor in the port of Granadilla early on Sunday, and medical teams boarded at around 07:00 local time (06:00 GMT) to begin a carefully planned evacuation and repatriation process devised by the Spanish government and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Passengers were observed on the deck and at the windows, all wearing white medical face masks. On the first evacuation boat. Several sat socially distanced, taking photos and filming as they approached land, where they were met by officials in white protective suits.

During transport to the airport, some British passengers in blue PPE waved and gave thumbs up to assembled media. Symptoms of hantavirus include fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, and shortness of breath.

Confirmed and Suspected Cases

Two British men with confirmed cases are receiving treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa. A third Briton is being treated for a suspected case on the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha. British Army medics parachuted in with fresh supplies to treat him.

British nationals arriving back in the UK will be taken to an isolation facility where they will be kept for up to 72 hours. Medics will assess whether they can isolate at home or in another suitable location based on their living arrangements.

Once all passengers and crew have disembarked, the Hondius will continue to the Netherlands, where the body of one of the passengers who died and their belongings will be disinfected before being removed.