24 of 38 Filipinos on hantavirus-hit MV Hondius to fly to Netherlands for quarantine

Twenty-four of the 38 Filipino crew members of the hantavirus-hit MV Hondius will soon board a flight to the Netherlands where they will undergo quarantine, the Department of Migrant Workers said.

At a virtual press briefing on Sunday night, DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac said that the 38 Filipino crew on board the ship consist of 24 hotel staff and 14 deck and engine staff. The 24 hotel staff, also known as stewards, will be flown out to the Netherlands—four at first, followed by 20 on Monday—to begin a six-week quarantine.

The 14 other Filipino crew will remain on the ship to sail it to Rotterdam in The Netherlands. When the ship reaches its destination, the crew will then begin their own quarantine. Upon completion of the quarantine, all Filipinos will be repatriated to the Philippines.

Crew to keep receiving salaries

The DMW added that the Filipino crew members will still be compensated as provided in their contracts while in quarantine.

“I think it’s also important to emphasize that all throughout the period of quarantine in The Netherlands, the ship’s crew, the Filipino crew will continue to receive their salaries and entitlements under the contracts. So even as they undergo quarantine, they will continue to sustain their families,” said Cacdac.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) said that the Filipino crew members have so far tested negative from the virus. If they do not show any symptoms, they could be declared free from the virus, it added.

“For the Filipinos on board, what I know in the information, they all tested negative. From the time of contact, the incubation period can be as long as 45 days. I think they will be quarantined for 42 days pa in The Netherlands,” said DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa in the same online briefing.

“If they don’t exhibit any symptoms, that means they will be determined to be disease-free and the risk of having hantavirus is very low. Pwede nang pauwiin ‘yan [They can go home],” he added.

The ship is currently anchored at Tenerife, Spain. At Rotterdam, the entire crew will leave for quarantine and the ship will be disinfected.

The DMW also said that the Filipino crew's expenses will be shouldered by the ship owner while they are in quarantine.

Hantavirus, which is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person, was first detected on May 2, 21 days after the first passenger died, by South African health officials testing a British man who was in intensive care. Two other former passengers have died since.

The luxury cruise ship left for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the WHO and European Union asked the country to manage the evacuation of passengers after the hantavirus outbreak was detected.

The agency said the first case may have been infected before boarding, possibly during travel in Argentina and Chile, with later spread likely occurring on the ship.

“The one in Latin America, South America is the Andes variant, and I think is the variant that we are all watching na mayroong [that has] human-to-human transmission,” said Herbosa.

“Yung sa human-to-human with Andes, you had to have very close contact. Hindi siya airborne gaya ng [It is not airborne, like] COVID or tuberculosis,” he added.

The DOH also said there have been no hantavirus cases recorded in the history of the Philippines. — with a report from Reuters/BM, GMA News