Overview
- Oceanwide said Tuesday that two air ambulances are en route to pick up two ill crew members and the asymptomatic companion of a deceased German passenger, with the flights expected to bring them to the Netherlands on Wednesday.
- The MV Hondius remains anchored off Praia after officials blocked docking to protect public health, with the WHO coordinating the response and stating the wider public risk is low, and 149 people from 23 countries still on board.
- One passenger has a lab-confirmed hantavirus infection and is in intensive care in Johannesburg, and three passengers have died including two Dutch nationals and a German, though investigators have not yet tied all deaths to the virus.
- Health authorities are working to identify the hantavirus variant and any links between cases, as the RIVM notes most hantaviruses do not spread person to person except the Andes virus found in South America.
- Company records show a man died on board April 11, he and his wife were put ashore at St. Helena on April 24 and she later died, another passenger fell ill April 27 and was evacuated to South Africa, and a German passenger died May 2.