THE HAGUE, May 18. /TASS/. The Dutch liner MV Hondius, aboard which a hantavirus outbreak occurred, has arrived at the port of Rotterdam, the NU.nl website reported.
According to the report, the ship docked at Pier 7 at around 10:30 a.m. local time. Crew members and the remaining staff from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) disembarked under medical supervision.
On May 15, the Hart van Nederland website reported that Dutch authorities would install 23 portable living units in the Port of Rotterdam, where non-Dutch crew members from the Hondius will undergo a mandatory six-week quarantine. According to the report, 27 people remained on board the vessel: 25 crew members and two RIVM employees. Two crew members and both RIVM employees are Dutch nationals and will complete quarantine at home.
The remaining 23 people, including one Russian citizen as well as citizens of Poland, Ukraine, and the Philippines, will stay in accommodations set up in the Rotterdam harbor.
On the evening of May 11, the MV Hondius departed from the port of Tenerife in the Canary Islands for the Netherlands. On May 12, the World Health Organization reported 11 cases of hantavirus infection on board, although the figure was later revised down to 10. Three people have died, and one patient remains hospitalized in Johannesburg.
In April, the Dutch-flagged cruise ship left Ushuaia, Argentina, for its final destination, the Canary Islands. There were around 150 people on board, most of them citizens of the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United States.