As more than 140 passengers and crew members prepare to disembark from a cruise ship where a deadly hantavirus outbreak killed three people and sickened others, countries around the world are mobilizing to prevent further spread through coordinated public health responses.
Contact tracing efforts have begun for at least two dozen people from 12 different countries who disembarked the ship early, including two residents of Ontario, who returned home from the ship on April 25. According to doctors the two passengers remain asymptomatic, posing no risk to the general public.
As the MV Hondius heads to the Canary Islands this weekend, health authorities say they are preparing to monitor the potential symptoms of passengers.
Follow below for key updates:
6 Canadians contacted
In a late-press conference update, public health confirmed they had reached a sixth Canadian who may have been in contact with the virus.
In total, there are 10 affected Canadians, including the four travellers still on the cruise ship.
Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist
‘There is no validated test’
When asked if any Canadians have been tested for hantavirus, Dr. Joss Reimer said that “there is no validated test for asymptomatic individuals.”
Reimer added that if any symptomatic cases emerge, officials have connected with provinces and territories “to come up with a plan where they identify a specific hospital that has the capabilities to manage complex viruses like this.”
Kayla Thompson, CTVNews.ca journalist
How will Canada proceed with repatriation?
Health officials confirmed that the country is preparing to repatriate the four remaining Canadians onboard the MV Hondius “as soon as possible once they disembark the ship on Sunday.”
Officials say they are involved in daily meetings and planned coordination with the CDC, WHO and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to plan the safest way for Canadians to return home.
Kayla Thompson, CTVNews.ca journalist
Netherlands Hantavirus Ship Medical personnel in hazmat suits wait for patients, evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship with suspected hantavirus infection, at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) All Canadians asymptomatic
The three Canadians who are isolating at home, and all four Canadian passengers still onboard, are asymptomatic, public health officials say.
Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist
3 other Canadians came in contact with virus
Health investigations are also underway by local authorities regarding three additional Canadians, two in Alberta and one in Ontario, who were on a flight recently where “they may have had brief contact with (a) confirmed case,” said Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Joss Reimer on Friday.
The three Canadians have “since returned to Canada” she added.
Kayla Thompson, CTVNews.ca journalist
Spread in Canada not expected
“Onward spread in Canada is not expected,” said Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Joss Reimer.
She reiterated that the three Canadians who are back in the country following potential exposure have been asked to isolate. There is no evidence that asymptomatic patients can spread the virus, she also said.
Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist
Two passengers are in isolation in Ontario
Two Ontario residents who were onboard a ship with an outbreak of hantavirus are from the same household in Grey-Bruce counties and are isolating at home now, Ontario’s top doctor tells CTV News.
Dr. Kieran Moore told CTV News Toronto in an interview the two arrived back in Ontario on April 25 and are being observed for a 45-day period.
However they remain asymptomatic.
“It’s just the two that we’re monitoring on a daily basis to ensure they remain asymptomatic,” Moore said. “They’re not cases, they’re contacts from the ship, and I just want to assure everybody they have no symptoms at present.”
Ontario is not expecting any more patients from the ship, Moore said.
Moore said he believes it’s unlikely the two might have passed hantavirus to anyone since their return as there is still no indication they have it themselves.
Joshua Freeman, CP24.com, journalist
Four Canadians remain on cruise ship, two return home amid hantavirus outbreak CTV News’ Scott Hurst has the latest on the hantavirus outbreak that has devastated passengers on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
What happens next to the remaining passengers?
Spanish authorities are preparing to receive the remaining passengers and crew members on Tenerife. Officials said Friday that passengers will be evacuated in small boats to buses only once their repatriation flights are ready to take them.
The United States has agreed to send a plane to the Canary Islands to pick up its citizens, as will the British government.
Other countries have not yet made their plans public, and it is not clear how long boat passengers will have to wait for their flights.
Spain has requested medically equipped planes for passengers experiencing symptoms, Virginia Barcones, the country’s head of emergency services, said Friday.
The Associated Press
‘This is our expertise’: Ontario’s top doctor
Dr. Kieran Moore said he wants to reassure people this is not another round of COVID-19.
“I have tremendous empathy to the public. I hope it doesn’t trigger too many individuals, but I do want to assure Ontarians, we have a plan. We’ve become experts in this type of activity, on contact tracing, on monitoring, on testing and ensuring Ontarians get the right care at the right time. So we’re on it. We are not traumatized by this. This is our expertise.”
The Canadian Press
CTV National News: WHO says hantavirus is not ‘COVID 2.0’ as officials monitor new cases Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch says that the public risk remains low despite rising hantavirus cases and a lengthy incubation period.
U.S. in direct contact with passengers
U.S. will offer repatriation flight for Americans on board the cruise ship
The State Department says it is in direct contact with a number of American citizens on board the cruise ship and will offer them a special flight home from Tenerife when the vessel arrives there this weekend.
The department said Friday that U.S. diplomats will be available to provide consular services in Tenerife to the Americans on board and has arranged the special repatriation flight in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Spanish government.
The Associated Press