‘Strongest in the world’: What’s next after Aussies on-board hantavirus-infected MV Hondius begin final stretch back home

Australians exposed to the deadly hantavirus will be subject to the “strongest quarantine arrangement anywhere in the world” when they land in Perth, Health Minister Mark Butler says as officials prepare for their arrival. Four Australians and two New Zealanders have been evacuated after being stranded on the MV Hondius cruise ship exposed to hantavirus, which has killed three people and infected several others on board. The six passengers were expectedto depart Tenerife in the Canary Islands on a flight chartered by the federal government overnight, but the flight failed to arrive. They have since flown from Spain to the Netherlands, where they will remain for 48 hours before making the final stretch to Western Australia. Once they’ve landed back on home soil, they will stay in quarantine for three weeks. Fronting a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Butler said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) was still finalising the Australians’ repatriation flights from the Netherlands, adding that authorities were navigating “complex arrangements” with Dutch counterparts. “We’re confident they’ll be finalised within the 48-hour timeframe that the Netherlands government has given,” Mr Butler said. He said hantavirus, a rodent-borne illness, had been officially listed in Australia as a “human disease … subject to biosecurity orders” – legally binding powers that can force extreme measures to contain a disease. For that reason, Mr Butler said the group of returnees, including four citizens, one permanent resident and a New Zealander, would land at RAAF Base Pearce near Perth and “be transported immediately to the quarantine facility at Bullsbrook”. “And they will be subject to three weeks of quarantine at that facility,” he said. “That facility is purpose-built exactly for this sort of a case.” First photos of plane leaving Spain released The first photos of the group of travellers leaving Tenerife South Airport were released on Tuesday as the group began the final stretch home. The flight left Spain about 4.45am on Tuesday and arrived in the Netherlands shortly after 8.30am. Passengers met with Australian ambassador to the Netherlands Greg French at the airport. He spoke to them about the next steps as they continued their journey. The passengers are expected to stay in the Netherlands for a maximum of 48 hours before making the flight to Western Australia. ‘Very confident’: Strengthened quarantine Mr Butler told reporters on Tuesday the passengers would be cared for by members of the Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre based in Darwin. “(The centre) was set up in 2002 in response to the Bali bombing tragedy,” he said. “It has very high experience in dealing with infectious disease emergencies and a range of other medical emergencies, both here in Australia and across the region. “And staff are in the process of being deployed from Darwin to look after the five Australians and the single New Zealander who will be at Bullsbrook over the course of these three weeks.” Mr Butler said he was “very confident” the quarantine time would help reduce the spread of the virus. “I am very confident … that Australians can all have confidence that there is no risk to the broader Australian community from this tragedy that’s happened on a cruise ship over the other side of the world,” he said. “These are very, very strong quarantine arrangements put in place in a facility built for this purpose and staffed by expert staff from the critical care and trauma response centre who have vast experience in dealing with these emergencies.” ‘Difficult arrangement’: Major quarantine move Mr Butler told the ABC that the passengers were on a flight to the Netherlands, where they would continue the journey to Western Australiaand begin their three-week quarantine period. “They were due to land at 8.10am (AEST time), and they will be transited to a hotel quarantine facility while the flight arrangements from the Netherlands to Australia are finalised,” he said. “This is a difficult arrangement to make.” Medical staff will be on the flights to monitor and assist the passengers, who will remain in the Netherlands for a maximum of 48 hours before making the final journey to Australia. “So, over the next 24 to 48 hours, we expect them to start their flight back to Australia,” Mr Butler said. The passengers are expected to arrive at RAAF Base Pearce, in Perth’s northeast, later this week. The passengers and flight crew will be transported next door to the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience to quarantine. Mr Butler said while “most countries” only require the passengers to quarantine for two or three days, he said Australia was taking “stronger” steps to ensure the virus doesn’t spread. “Most countries are only requiring their returning citizens to go into some sort of centralised quarantine, like a hospital or a centre like the one we’re using in Western Australia, for two or three days, and then they’ll be released to home quarantine – obviously subject to monitoring arrangements,” he told Sunrise. “We’ve decided to go with something stronger than that.” He said there were crews from critical care and trauma response to care for the passengers as they wait out their quarantine. “This is probably the strongest quarantine response of any country that is taking passengers back from this cruise ship,” Mr Butler told the ABC. MV Hondius cruise ship captain Jan Dobrogowski gave an emotional message to the crew and guests who were aboard the hantavirus-infected vessel. ‘Challenging’: Cruise captain speaks In his first public statement, MV Hondius captain Jan Dobrogowski said the past few weeks had been “extremely challenging” but was thankful for the “kindness” offered by the crew and others involved in the process. “What touched me the most, what moved me the most was your patience, your discipline and also kindness, kindness that you show to each other throughout,” he said in a social media video. “At sea, people depend on each other. There is no readily available rescue services standing by to come to your help in emergency.” He said the crew and passengers were united against the troubling developments. “I’ve witnessed your care, your unity and quiet strength among everybody on board – guests and crew,” Mr Dobrogowski said. He thanked the crew for their “selfless resolve” shown to the passengers as they waited to fly home. “I could not imagine sailing through these circumstances with a better group of people, guests and crew alike,” he said. Mr Dobrogowski offered his condolences to the three people who died on the ship. “Our thoughts are with the ones that are no longer with us,” he said. “And whatever I say will not ease this loss, but I’d like you to know they are with us every day in our hearts and our thoughts.” ‘Purpose-built facility’ Australian Medical Association WA president Kyle Hoath told the Today show that the returned passengers would stay in a “purpose-built quarantine facility” in Bullsbrook, about 40km north of Perth. “Quarantine will go for three weeks, which we know at this stage is only part of the suspected incubation period of 42 days,” Dr Hoath said. “That’ll (be) reassessed to ensure that the right decisions are made around whether or not that quarantine needs to extend.” The flight distance and refuel requirements had to adhere to strict health advice, which made the repatriation mission complex. None of the repatriated passengers are displaying symptoms of the virus, but personnel will be on-board the flight to monitor their conditions. Mr Butler said three NSW residents, two Queensland residents and a New Zealand resident would be quarantined at the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience in Perth’s northeast for at least three weeks. The quarantine facility was built next to the RAAF Base in Pearce during the pandemic for Covid purposes but was never used. Mr Butler said a flight being arranged by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to repatriate the Australians and New Zealander would land at the RAAF air base. He said the six people on-board the flight would be transferred immediately to the quarantine facility next door. “People might recall this is one of the quarantine facilities, or the centres for national resilience that were set up at the back end of the last pandemic,” he said. “It is still there. It is able to operate. It is currently owned by the Commonwealth government, and will be operated, operated in partnership with WA Health. “This period of three weeks quarantine will obviously only cover part of the 42-day quarantine period or potential incubation period that is understood to be relevant to this particular virus. “As we move into that three-week period, we’ll be seeking further advice from the chief health officers, through the AHPC about what arrangements should take place beyond that initial three weeks.” Mr Butler said the quarantined passengers would be subjected to testing during quarantine and measures would be put in place when they returned home to NSW and Queensland. He said Australia also had a responsibility to bring those passengers home and to protect them from any risk, no matter how small, of potentially transmitting the virus without knowing it. “That is why we’ve decided to take this precautionary approach to activate the Centre for National Resilience, which was set up precisely for this purpose to keep our community safe and we’ll be monitoring those arrangements over the coming days,” he said. Meanwhile, one of five French people being flown back to France is symptomatic, with French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu confirming all five passengers are receiving medical treatment and would be placed “in strict isolation until further notice”. The Australians, including the permanent resident, who are being repatriated live in NSW and Queensland. Responsibility for health monitoring, quarantine, and testing arrangements will shift to the relevant state governments upon the cohort’s arrival. A federal government spokesman said Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade consular officers on the ground in Tenerife and in Canberra had been co-ordinating response efforts. “The Australian government is working closely with state authorities to co-ordinate arrival, health and transport arrangements. “Quarantine and health arrangements are managed by states in accordance with their public health requirements.” DFAT’s Smartraveller service also issued updated advice on Monday for travellers heading to Argentina, saying hantavirus remains a risk in the country as well as “in and around Buenos Aires and northern Patagonia”. “Avoid contact with live or dead rodents, nests, burrows and droppings,” the advice said. NewsWire understands there are measures in place to ensure the group does not come into contact with the general population. They will be transferred directly from their charter flight to the transportation that will take them to their quarantine locations. The cohort’s departure from Tenerife is part of the final set of evacuations from the MV Hondius. The vessel is then due to return back to the Netherlands. The three MV Hondius passengers who died were a German woman and two Dutch nationals.