Government jet lands in Ireland after hantavirus evacuation flight from Tenerife

"The MV Hondius, which is at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak, docked in Tenerife in the Canary Islands on Sunday morning. Spanish authorities have been conducting health checks and disembarking passengers. The Irish aircraft flew to and from the island from Baldonnel Aerodrome on Sunday. Flight-tracking websites showed the plane left Tenerife for Ireland at around 5.40pm and landed back at the military air base in west Co Dublin shortly after 9pm. Two ambulences were seen leaving the airport just before 9.30pm."

"The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers from the boat from Sunday. Planes for the Spanish and French nationals had departed by 1130 GMT. Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, Turkey, Ireland, and the United States were listed by Spanish health minister Monica Garcia as the next countries to evacuate their citizens, with the Dutch plane also due to take Germans, Belgians and Greeks. A plane from Australia which would transport its citizens as well as passengers from New Zealand and other unspecified Asian countries was due to land on Monday and depart by the afternoon, Garcia said."

"Hantavirus, which is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person, was first detected on May 2, 21 days after the first passenger died, by South African health officials testing a British man who was in intensive care. Two other former passengers have died since. The luxury cruise ship left for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the WHO and European Union asked the country to manage the evacuation of passengers after the hantavirus outbreak was detected."

"The agency said the first case may have been infected before boarding, possibly during travel in Argentina and Chile, with later spread likely occurring on the ship. No rodents detected on ship. The WHO said in an update on Friday that eight people no longer on the ship had fallen ill, including the three who died - a Dutch couple."

The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife as Spanish authorities conducted health checks and passengers disembarked. An Irish aircraft flew to and from the island, with flight tracking showing departure around 5.40pm and return shortly after 9pm, followed by ambulances leaving the airport before 9.30pm. The WHO recommended a 42-day quarantine for all passengers from Sunday. Spanish authorities reported departures for Spanish and French nationals by 11.30 GMT and listed additional countries preparing evacuations, including Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, Turkey, Ireland, and the United States, with the Dutch plane also carrying Germans, Belgians, and Greeks. Hantavirus was first detected on May 2 after a British man was tested in intensive care, and later deaths occurred. The WHO reported no rodents detected on the ship and noted that some people who were no longer on board had fallen ill, including those who died.

Read at Irish Independent