MV Hondius Resumes 7-Day Svalbard Charters June 13 After Hantavirus Outbreak Killed 3
Updated
Updated · Forbes · May 19
MV Hondius Resumes 7-Day Svalbard Charters June 13 After Hantavirus Outbreak Killed 3
6 articles · Updated · Forbes · May 19
June 13 is the target date for MV Hondius to restart service with a seven-day Svalbard cruise after disinfection in the Netherlands, and operator Oceanwide Expeditions has already canceled two scheduled voyages.
25 crew members and two medical professionals arrived aboard the ship in the Netherlands without symptoms, while the vessel undergoes chlorine-and-peroxide cleaning and most crew enter immediate quarantine.
Nearly a dozen people were infected in the outbreak and three died, but WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the wider public risk remains low and there is no sign of a larger outbreak.
More than 40 people are still being monitored as investigators trace the Andes hantavirus source, with attention on a Dutch couple who likely boarded already infected after travel in southern Argentina.
After a deadly hantavirus outbreak, can a cruise ship truly be made safe for its next voyage in just weeks?
Officials deny the virus came from Argentina. So where did this deadly passenger outbreak actually begin?
With a 40% fatality rate, why was the official emergency response at its lowest level and the public risk called 'low'?