Australians on board a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak will return home within days as officials manage the “difficult” preparations.
Four Australian citizens, a permanent resident and a New Zealander have touched down in the Netherlands after evacuating the MV Hondius cruise ship.
They were among the last passengers to disembark from the vessel after it reached port at Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
Three passengers have died after travelling on the cruise ship, with several more suspected or confirmed cases of the deadly hantavirus.
Australia’s ambassador to the Netherlands Dr Greg French met the Australians and New Zealander in the Netherlands as they arrived about 8.30am on Tuesday (AEST).
Dr French spoke with them briefly at a distance due to health protocols.
The group will undergo initial quarantine in the Netherlands, where they will be allowed to stay only for 48 hours before continuing their journey to Perth.
It is understood none of the passengers flying to Australia are displaying symptoms of the virus.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is handling the repatriation flights, which will include medical personnel.
“This is a difficult arrangement to make,” Health Minister Mark Butler told ABC on Tuesday morning.
“You’ve got to have crew that are willing to isolate at the end of the flight, you’ve got to have a flight that has some refuelling arrangements put in place between the Netherlands and Australia.”
Upon landing at RAAF Base Pearce, the returning travellers will be securely transported to a nearby quarantine facility.
North-east of Perth, the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience was built next to RAAF Base Pearce during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The facility is run by the federal government.
Mr Butler said group will quarantine for at least three weeks, at which point the federal government will take advice on future arrangements.
Critical care and trauma response staff will deliver care for the passengers.
The World Health Organisation recommends home or facility quarantine for high-risk contacts for 42 days following last exposure to hantavirus.
Mr Butler stressed the quarantine requirements were strict compared to those imposed by the other nations repatriating passengers.
“This is probably the strongest quarantine response of any country that is taking passengers back from this cruise ship,” Mr Butler said.
Hantaviruses are a group of viruses usually spread by rodent droppings and are not easily transmitted between people.
The MV Hondius had been carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries and departed from Argentina on April 1.
