Covid-19 cruise passengers recall painful memories amid hantavirus outbreak

The recent coverage of a cruise ship hit with a deadly hantavirus outbreak is painfully familiar to cruisers who spent days and weeks trapped in their cabins at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020

The recent coverage of a cruise ship hit with a deadly hantavirus outbreak is painfully familiar to cruisers who spent days and weeks trapped in their cabins at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

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Three passengers from the MV Hondius have died, two of whom had confirmed cases of the Andes strain of the hantavirus and one with a probable case. The ship is currently on a multiday journey from Cape Verde, off the coast of western Africa, to the Canary Islands.

The U.S. State Department said Friday that it is arranging a flight for the 17 American passengers to be brought to a quarantine facility in Nebraska. The ship should reach the Spanish-controlled islands on Sunday, with evacuations expected to begin on Monday.