The Australian government has announced plans to place six passengers from a cruise ship linked to a hantavirus outbreak in a quarantine facility north of Perth for at least three weeks.
The affected passengers include four Australian citizens, one Australian permanent resident and one New Zealander. They will be housed at the 500-bed Bullsbrook quarantine centre in Western Australia, a facility originally built during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian Health Minister Mark Butler disclosed the development on Monday, describing the repatriation process from Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands as a “complex” operation.
According to Butler, the government plans to officially list hantavirus under Australia’s biosecurity laws, allowing authorities to legally enforce quarantine measures for the passengers.
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The six individuals, who are not showing symptoms of the virus, are expected to arrive through a nearby air force base before being transferred directly to the quarantine centre.
“Those six people will be transferred immediately to that quarantine facility directly next door to the RAAF base,” Butler said.
The minister explained that hantavirus has an incubation period of up to 42 days, adding that authorities are still considering what measures will apply after the initial three-week quarantine period.
He noted that while some countries only required passengers from the cruise ship to isolate briefly before returning home, Australia decided to adopt stricter measures because of concerns surrounding the long international flight from Tenerife on a relatively small aircraft.
Hantavirus is a rare but potentially serious disease commonly spread through contact with rodents or their droppings.
