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24 of the 38 Filipino crew members will disembark within 24 hours, while the remaining 14 will help transport the ship to the Dutch port.
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine authorities said Sunday night, May 10, that 24 of the 38 Filipino workers hantavirus MV Hondius will disembark in Spain, then fly to the Netherlands for a 42-day quarantine.
The Secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Hans Leo Cacdac said in a press conference that four of them will disembark in the Canary Islands on May 10, while the remaining 20 will disembark on May 11.
These 24 workers held stewardship positions on the ship.
After disembarking, they will board a flight back to the Netherlands, where they will be quarantined for 42 days.
The remaining 14 Filipino crew members on board, with deck and engine works, will sail on the MV Hondius to the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. They will also be under quarantine after that.
The DMW is preparing for the repatriation of the personnel to the Philippines after being tested in the Netherlands.
Secretary of the Department of Health Teodoro Herbosa said that although the country is ready for all the medical procedures required by seafarers as soon as they arrive, additional testing is not necessary.
“There is no need to test when they are released from quarantine,” Herbosa said. (There is no need for further testing once they are released from quarantine.)
The MV Hondius arrived off the coast of Tenerife, Canary Islands, at 6:24 am local time. Passengers and a small number of crew have been disembarking in groups via launch boats.
All symptomatic patients have left the ship for medical assistance on May 6. The remaining passengers and crew on board were declared asymptomatic as of May 7.
Communicate with staff members
Saturday, May 9, Cacdac participated in Post X that he had a virtual meeting with some Filipino crew members aboard the MV Hondius, who said they did not have the hantavirus.
“Their moods are not scary (Their condition is not shocked)… they are fine and safe in the plane. But having said that, of course, the priority is to get them back out of the ship,” he said during the meeting.
Cacdac also said that strict medical protocols were implemented on board the ship before anchoring in the Canary Islands.
WHO to deal with the hantavirus outbreak
On May 4, ship owner Oceanwide Expeditions and the World Health Organization separately reported a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius after three passengers died, two of whom were confirmed to have been infected with the virus.
In a press conference previously held in the port of Tenerife, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak is completely different from COVID-19, and the risk of another pandemic from the hanta virus is low.
“This is not another COVID, and the risk to the public is low. (Everyone) should not be afraid, and they should not be afraid. This is based on how the virus is doing now, because this virus is known, and there are assessments that have been made,” he said. – Rappler.com
