Hantavirus: what happens to cruise ship passengers now and will they quarantine?

"The WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine and active follow-up, including daily checks for symptoms such as fever. The 42-day quarantine can be carried out at a staffed facility or in isolation at home. Some health experts are concerned people may not strictly isolate for six weeks. The WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says his organisation does not force' its guidance. It's still unclear."

"Up to 150 people have started flying home aboard military and government planes from Spain's Canary Islands, and the World Health Organization has recommended, but not mandated, a 42-day quarantine once they have landed. Passengers wore blue medical suits and breathing masks as they disembarked MV Hondius on to smaller boats, according to observers. Those boats docked at a small industrial port in Tenerife."

"Evacuees then boarded Spanish army buses and travelled to an airport. A protective board separated drivers from passengers. Evacuees then changed into new protective equipment and pictures showed them on the tarmac being sprayed down by medical officers before boarding repatriation charter flights. The WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine and active follow-up, including daily checks for symptoms such as fever."

"In the UK, the NHS says people will undergo medical tests at Arrowe Park hospital, near Liverpool. The group will initially stay for 72 hours, and arrangements for further isolation assessed. In Australia, passengers will be taken by ambulance to a hospital to undergo assessment and establish suitable quarantine arrangements. The facility in Sydney's west has been designed to treat patients with high consequence infectious diseases, such as Ebola."

Repatriation of passengers and crew from the hantavirus-hit MV Hondius is nearly complete. Up to 150 people have begun flying home from Spain’s Canary Islands using military and government planes. Evacuees disembarked in protective suits and masks, transferred by smaller boats to Tenerife, traveled by sealed transport to an airport, received new protective equipment, and were sprayed down before boarding flights. The WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine with active follow-up, including daily fever and symptom checks, but does not mandate compliance. The quarantine can occur in staffed facilities or at home. The UK plans initial medical testing at Arrowe Park hospital for 72 hours, then reassesses further isolation. Australia plans ambulance transport to a high-consequence infectious disease hospital for assessment and quarantine arrangements.

Read at www.theguardian.com