Seventeen American passengers from a virus-hit cruise ship that docked in Spain's Canary Islands are being flown by a government-chartered plane to be examined at a US medical facility.
Evacuation of passengers from the quarantined ship/PHOTO: X
Upon arrival at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, they will be examined by medical staff to determine if they are ill and need treatment or if they are well enough to return home.
They are among the more than 90 passengers of the MV Hondius who were evacuated on Sunday. Authorities say the risk of a major outbreak of infection is very low. Another seven American passengers have already returned and are being monitored in their home states, the BBC writes.
Passengers were pictured wearing blue gowns, bonnets and medical masks as they disembarked at Tenerife's Granadilla de Abona port on Sunday. A British citizen living in the US was evacuated along with the 17 American passengers.
The acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Sunday that the agency is interviewing passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship before their flight to the US. Once in Nebraska, officials want them “assess from the point of view of risk” for the public, Jay Bhattacharya told CNN.
Threat to public health
Passengers will only be considered a threat to public health if they have come into close contact with a person showing symptoms of hantavirus, which is the only way the virus can be transmitted between people.
“If they have not come into close contact with a symptomatic person, we will consider them low riskBhattacharya stated.If they have come into close contact, we will consider them medium or high risk. At that point, we will provide them with alternatives,” he continued, adding that “these will include advice.”
These will include “the offer to stay in Nebraska if they choose or, if they want to return home and the situation at home allows, to drive them home safely without exposing others on the road”he added.
Once home, they will continue to be monitored by local health authorities, “with CDC support throughout the process”Bhattacharya said. According to the CDC, the group will need to “self isolate” for 42 days.
In a conference call with reporters on Saturday, CDC officials said the passengers would not be tested because none of them had symptoms at the time.
The Nebraska Medical Center, a state-of-the-art facility where passengers will be transported, is home to the National Quarantine Facility – the only federally funded quarantine facility in the US.
The 20-bed unit was inaugurated in November 2019, just a few months before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The rooms are equipped with negative air pressure systems, designed to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. A spokeswoman for the medical center said passengers were expected to arrive there “early Monday morning.”
In a press conference Friday, health officials at the facility said none of the passengers were believed to be ill.
“We do not expect any of these passengers to be carried on a stretcher”, said the centre's director, Professor John Lowe.
“They'll get off the plane, get into a vehicle, be driven here and go to their quarantine room.” Dr Michael Wadman, director of the National Quarantine Unit, said passengers would have plenty of freedom. He compared their stay to a hotel vacation.
“It's kind of like living in a hotel room with food delivery”he said. “Patients can use their exercise machines in the room, and we monitor their symptoms and check their vital signs daily.”
If someone was found to be sick, they would be taken to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, which is in the same medical facility, he said.
The unit is intended for patients with “high-risk infectious diseases”.
Authorities continue to stress that hantavirus should not be compared to Covid-19, which spread much more easily.
“It's not about Covid”Bhattacharya said. “And we don't want to treat it like Covid.”
“We don't want to cause panic in the population because of this. We want to address the situation by applying the hantavirus protocols that have been effective in fighting past outbreaks.”
At least seven passengers on the same cruise ship have already returned to the United States.
State health officials are monitoring them for possible infections: two in Georgia, two in Texas, one in Virginia, one in Arizona and an unknown number in California.
