Four Canadians who were among the passengers aboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship have arrived in Quebec Sunday afternoon.
Soon after their arrival at the Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, just north of Quebec City, they’re expected to board a flight to B.C. where they will be assessed by public health officials.
They’ll remain in quarantine at a pre-determined location to self-isolate for a minimum of 21 days (dating back to May 6, the last day a confirmed case was on board the ship), Global Affairs Canada said.
The four, who are asymptomatic, are being treated as potential exposures to hantavirus, B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said at a press conference Sunday afternoon.
“At no point during their arrival or isolation period will they be in contact with the public. They will be monitored daily by local public health teams to ensure that they remain well and are safely isolating,” she said.
The Canadians were among the approximately 130 passengers who disembarked from the MV Hondius after the vessel arrived at Granadilla in Spain’s Canary Islands Sunday morning.
Passengers wearing protective gear were being gradually taken off ship that was anchored off the port in Southern Tenerife.
They first boarded a small boat that took them to shore where they were being assessed by various public officials, including officials from the World Health Organization.
The Public Health Agency of Canada and Global Affairs Canada had chartered the flight for the Canadians with help from the armed forces.
None of the passengers exhibited symptoms of the virus, according to the ship’s owner Oceanwide Expeditions, Spain’s health ministry, and the WHO.
Spanish passengers were the first to leave the MV Hondius following its arrival in Tenerife. They were then flown to Madrid and taken to a military hospital. Hours later, a plane that evacuated French passengers landed in Paris, where it was met by emergency vehicles.
One of the five French passengers developed symptoms on the flight, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a statement, and all were put into strict isolation with plans to be tested.
The evacuation process involving passengers and crew from more than 20 nationalities is expected to last until Monday.
This isn’t another COVID: WHO director-general
All passengers and crew members disembarking were being checked for symptoms and would have no contact with the local population, with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Spain’s health and interior ministers supervising the operation in Tenerife.
Those disembarking and personnel working at Granadilla were seen wearing protective gear during the evacuation process, including face masks, hazmat suits and respirators.
Later, speaking to reporters at a media briefing, Ghebreyesus again sought to reassure the public, stating, “This isn’t another COVID; and the risk to the public is low, so they shouldn’t be scared and they shouldn’t panic.”
Several Canadians isolating
Two Canadians — a couple from Ontario’s Grey Bruce region — are already at home isolating after they had disembarked from the ship in late April before the outbreak was declared.
The couple is asymptomatic, with Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones stating that it’s believed that they are not a risk to the public.
Four other Canadians — from Quebec, Alberta and Ontario — were not on the ship but may have come into contact with someone infected with hantavirus while flying, the federal government said.
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Ship will then sail to the Netherlands
Three passengers have died after the Hondius was hit with the rodent-borne disease during its voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina to Antarctica sometime after April 1, following several stops at isolated islands in the South Atlantic.
Two bodies of the deceased passengers, and five others who were infected with the virus have already left the ship before it docked in Tenerife.
Some crew, as well as the remaining passenger’s body, will stay on the ship, which will sail on to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where it will undergo disinfection, Spanish authorities said.
About hantavirus
Hantavirus is normally linked to exposure to infected rodents’ urine or feces, with human-to-human spread rare.
The strain of the virus in this outbreak, named Andes, is the only known variant of the hantavirus that transmits from person to person.
While Andes virus transmission between people can occur, health officials have said the overall risk to the general population from this outbreak is low.
Symptoms of the virus usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
— with files from The Canadian Press and Associated Press
