On Monday, May 11, 2026, Oceanwide Expeditions informed that 87 guests and 35 crew members from 22 countries have left the ship and returned home. The boat is now heading to the Netherlands with 25 crew members and two medical professionals on board.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that everything is under control and there is no cause for concern during an Oval Office event after President Donald Trump downplayed virus concerns. Health officials have mentioned that the disease is not easily spread and that the U.S. is well-prepared.
Sixteen passengers who were on the MV Hondius, affected by the hantavirus, are now isolating at the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska. Two other passengers, including one showing symptoms of the Andes variant of the virus, are in Atlanta for health checks.
The two patients, one with symptoms, are in isolation at Emory University while the rest of the American residents are in Nebraska, as per health officials.
A clarification was made regarding an American patient who tested “mildly positive” for hantavirus. Officials explained that the person was tested twice using a PCR molecular test, showing one positive and one negative result. The patient is currently symptom-free and will undergo further testing.
Dr. Brian Christine, assistant secretary for health, stated that the public risk level is still very low.
A plane carrying 18 individuals, including 17 Americans and one British dual national, landed in Omaha, Nebraska, coming from the Canary Islands.
France’s Health Minister Stéphanie Rist mentioned that a woman among five French nationals evacuated from the ship has tested positive for hantavirus. All five individuals will be isolated in Paris.
The Department of Health and Human Services reported on Sunday, May 10, 2026, that 17 American citizens and one British individual living in the U.S. were evacuated from the MV Hondius. Out of caution, two passengers were placed in the plane’s biocontainment units. One passenger displayed mild symptoms while another tested mildly positive for the Andes virus.
A woman from Spain who showed symptoms after being on the same flight as a MV Hondius passenger with hantavirus tested negative for the Andes variant.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu tweeted that five French passengers were evacuated from the ship, with one of them showing symptoms post-evacuation.
Passengers and crew members disembarked from the MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla, Spain, with no one exhibiting symptoms.
British Army paratroopers delivered medical supplies and personnel to Tristan da Cunha, a British territory, to assist a man showing virus symptoms.
Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, emphasized to CNN that the current situation should not be treated like COVID-19.
Note: This content covers a report about a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. Please verify in case of any outdated information.
