Overview
- Federal and state officials confirmed six people repatriated from the MV Hondius will arrive at RAAF Pearce and move into the Bullsbrook Centre for supervised quarantine.
- WA Health said none of the travellers has symptoms and they will isolate for at least three weeks under strict PPE and infection-control rules, with authorities flagging a possible extension because incubation can reach 42 days.
- The charter journey runs from Tenerife with a transit through the Netherlands to Perth’s air force base, and medical staff are accompanying the group throughout the flights.
- Health leaders described hantavirus as a rare, rodent-borne illness with human-to-human spread uncommon, and they said the controlled quarantine means the wider community faces very low risk.
- Built in 2022 as a 500‑bed COVID-era facility with separate entries and specialised ventilation, Bullsbrook has mostly sat idle and drawn calls for repurposing, and this marks its first use for infectious-disease control.