Australia Quarantines 6 Cruise Passengers for 3 Weeks After 11 Hantavirus Cases
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · May 15
Australia Quarantines 6 Cruise Passengers for 3 Weeks After 11 Hantavirus Cases
12 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · May 15
Six passengers from the MV Hondius landed near Perth on Friday and were transferred to the Bullsbrook facility for at least three weeks of quarantine.
Australia imposed a tougher regime than the United States and most European countries, with Health Minister Mark Butler saying the aim is to eliminate any risk of community transmission.
Five Australians and one New Zealand citizen had tested negative before leaving the Netherlands, were monitored by a doctor on the flight, and will undergo further health assessments in quarantine.
The outbreak on the Antarctic cruise ship has infected 11 people and killed three; officials have not yet decided what precautions may be needed for the rest of the WHO-cited 42-day incubation window.
With passengers and many crew evacuated, the MV Hondius is sailing back to the Netherlands for cleaning and disinfection.
Could Australia's strict quarantine response to the hantavirus outbreak set a new global standard for handling emerging infectious diseases?
With evidence suggesting Andes virus spreads more easily than believed, how prepared are international systems for a potential pandemic threat from cruise ships?
Is the Bullsbrook 'white elephant' quarantine facility a model of foresight or an overreaction in the face of rare but high-risk outbreaks?