An American citizen and a French woman evacuated from the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive, officials said, as the repatriation operation continued on Monday. Following the positive test results, Spain defended the rigour of its sanitary measures during the complex evacuation Sunday of 94 people of 19 different nationalities from the MV Hondius, which is moored in the Canary Islands. FRANCE 24’s Claire Paccalin reports from Bichat Hospital in central Paris.
So the US and French nationals tested positive after that chaotic evacuation from the MV Hondius. Spain claims their sanitary measures were rigorous, but 94 people from 19 nations were on that ship—how thorough could screening really be?
I feel for those passengers. Imagine being on a luxury cruise and then getting hit with hantavirus—that’s terrifying. Hope the two who tested positive at Bichat Hospital recover quickly.
Spain defending their sanitary measures makes me wonder if they missed something during the evacuation. Hantavirus isn’t that common, so how did it spread on the MV Hondius? Need more transparency.
Paediatric healthcare needs specialised attention and dedicated funding streams. (294a8e)