On Thursday, Australia’s Health Minister Mark Butler announced an extension for the quarantine period affecting travelers arriving from Australia. Specifically, the quarantine for cruise ships linked to an April hantavirus outbreak will now last from June 5 to June 23.
Butler explained that this decision was made based on guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health officials. He noted, “The incubation period for hantavirus can be up to 42 days, so the World Health Organization recommends maintaining some form of isolation for that duration,” though he didn’t clarify why the initial quarantine was set for a shorter 21-day period.
He mentioned that opting for 42 days, rather than 21, was partly due to “two additional reports of hantavirus infections linked to this cruise ship.” Over the weekend, a crew member from a Dutch cruise ship tested positive, and a passenger from a Spanish cruise ship also did, indicating there’s still a risk of infection post-disembarkation.
“Passengers have been updated on government recommendations and decisions. Fortunately, they remain in good spirits. They’ve only been retested recently, and all six came back negative,” Butler added.
The six quarantined individuals include four Australians, one permanent resident, and one New Zealander. They have been housed at the National Resilience Facility in Bullsbrook, near Perth’s Royal Australian Air Force base, since being returned from the Canary Islands on May 15.
This facility, which has a 500-bed capacity, was established during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic but has seen limited use since its completion last year. Although it faced criticism for being a project born out of panic, it did serve briefly in 2023 for those displaced by wildfires and is also utilized for police training prior to the arrival of the hantavirus cruise passengers.
The hantavirus outbreak on the Hondius has raised alarms since this particular virus strain can be transmitted through human contact. Reports indicate that as of Wednesday, the WHO had recorded 11 confirmed cases, two probable cases, and three fatalities linked to the outbreak. However, only two of these deaths were confirmed hantavirus infections.
The additional cases Butler referenced included one crew member and one passenger, who tested positive in the Netherlands and Spain, respectively. So far, there are no confirmed hantavirus cases outside of the passengers and crew from the Hondius.
