All passengers on the cruise ship Hondius, although no one has presented symptoms of infection, are considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be high-risk contacts who must be monitored for 42 days.
They will undergo testing by the Spanish health authorities to make an initial assessment of their condition, and then, according to Spanish officials, they will be transported to land via small boats.
Subsequently, special buses will transport them to the main airport of the Spanish island, approximately 10 minutes away, where they will board aircraft bound for their respective countries.
Spanish nationals disembarked first, and groups of other nationalities will follow.
The Spaniards began to disembark into a small boat from the cruise ship that was struck by the outbreak of the hantavirus and is sailing toward the port of Granadilla, as announced by the Ministry of Health of Spain.
According to statements by officials, the passengers will be transported directly from the port to military bases at the airport and will fly via a Spanish government aircraft to Madrid, where they will be transferred to a hospital and placed under quarantine.
The next group will be the passengers from the Netherlands, while their plane will also transport passengers from Germany, Belgium, and Greece, the Minister of Health of Spain stated.
Subsequently, passengers from Turkey, France, Britain, and the US will be evacuated.
"The last flight of the operation departs from Australia. It is the most complex flight and is scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon," stated the Minister of Health of Spain, Monica Garcia, noting that the last flight will pick up six persons from Australia, New Zealand, and other Asian countries.
Within the day, the 5 French passengers of the cruise ship Hondius will be repatriated on a medical flight, according to a joint statement by the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs of France.
The transport will take place "in compliance with the applicable health protocols and in accordance with the recommendations of the WHO," according to the two ministries.
In France, all five passengers "will be placed in quarantine at a hospital for 72 hours, where a full assessment of their health status will be conducted before organizing their return to their home, where they will remain in isolation for 45 days, with the appropriate monitoring."
Subsequently, the health authorities will monitor the persons who have been exposed to the virus but have not presented symptoms "in their respective areas of residence."
The monitoring will include "an initial contact and subsequently regular contacts for a period of 6 weeks, which corresponds to the maximum theoretical incubation period, as well as the provision of appropriate health recommendations," according to the announcement.
"At this stage, no confirmed case has been reported on French territory," the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs of France noted.
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