Four Canadians who had been stranded on the MV Hondius, a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus, landed in B.C. Sunday evening after a stopover in Bagotville, Que. They will self-isolate for a total of at least 21 days.<\/p>\n
Canada had chartered an aircraft to repatriate the Canadians from Tenerife, Spain. A consular official with Global Affairs Canada\u00a0(GAC) and a public health officer from the Public Health Agency of Canada\u00a0(PHAC)\u00a0had been in Tenerife since Thursday and in contact with the Canadian passengers, according to a joint statement on Sunday from GAC and PHAC.\u00a0All had followed strict isolation protocols on board\u00a0since May 4\u00a0and\u00a0all were asymptomatic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
B.C. provincial health officer Bonnie Henry said that some of the four travellers \u201chave connections with British Columbia,\u201d which is why B.C. was chosen for their repatriation.<\/p>\n
The four Canadians were among the roughly 130 asymptomatic passengers on board the MV Hondius when it reached port Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
The cruise ship\u00a0arrived\u00a0in the Canary Islands on Sunday and public health officials\u00a0conducted a\u00a0final assessment of each passenger before they disembarked. They were ferried\u00a0ashore on small vessels, with distancing between passengers\u00a0maintained, and taken on sealed buses directly to the airport. Before boarding the bus, Spanish medical personnel conducted\u00a0a further screening. All four Canadians were assessed by a PHAC officer as asymptomatic upon boarding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Public health measures on the flight included masking and physical distancing; the\u00a0PHAC\u00a0officer\u00a0was\u00a0also on board, the statement said. PHAC\u00a0is co-ordinating\u00a0all health procedures and will work\u00a0with relevant provincial\u00a0and local public health\u00a0authorities in Canada, the statement said.<\/p>\n
On arriving in B.C., the travellers were expected to be assessed by local public health before leaving the airport for \u201ca pre-determined location,\u201d which was not disclosed, \u201cto self-isolate for a minimum of 21 days.\u201d That time frame dates back to May 6, the final day a confirmed case was on board the ship.<\/p>\n
At the end of the 21-day period, public health officials in B.C. will decide, based on their assessment and\u00a0guidance from the World Health Organization, if it is necessary to\u00a0extend the self-isolation period\u00a0to\u00a0a maximum of 42 days since the last possible exposure on the ship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The minister of national defence authorized the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to assist GAC and PHAC in repatriating the\u00a0Canadian citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe CAF assistance is limited to short\u2011term logistics support and temporary facility access, facilitating the transfer of the repatriating Canadians\u00a0on\u00a0a\u00a0chartered return\u00a0and their transfer from PHAC to provincial health authorities at the destination,\u201d said the statement.<\/p>\n
The statement said the health of the travellers will be assessed regularly and that they have access to medical care and mental health and psychological support, and also to testing if\u00a0they\u00a0develop any symptoms.<\/p>\n
The assessment of PHAC, consistent with that of the World Health Organization, continues to be that the overall risk in Canada to the general population from the hantavirus\u00a0cluster\u00a0linked to the MV\u00a0Hondius\u00a0remains low. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile\u00a0transmission between people\u00a0can occur,\u00a0this is very rare and requires close, prolonged contact with someone who is sick,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
Presse Canadienne contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
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