3 New Yorkers were on hantavirus-stricken ship

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday that three New Yorkers were aboard the cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak.

It is unclear whether any of the New Yorkers tested positive for the virus, Hochul said.

Hochul said state officials are monitoring the New Yorkers involved.

“There are three individuals who call New York home. We don’t know whether those individuals will be returning to New York. I believe that there is a 42-day monitoring period,” she said.

The passengers were on the MV Hondius, where several people became sick with a rare strain of hantavirus. Three people have died since the outbreak began, according to the World Health Organization.

What You Need To Know

Gov. Kathy Hochul says three New Yorkers were aboard the cruise ship linked to a hantavirus outbreak

It’s still unclear whether any of the New Yorkers tested positive for the virus

At least 17 Americans from the ship were removed and placed in quarantine in Nebraska

Health officials said 17 Americans from the ship were flown back to the United States and taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for quarantine and monitoring. U.S. officials said late Sunday that one of the American passengers tested positive for hantavirus but is not showing symptoms, and another American is showing mild symptoms.

Hochul said she is not worried about a pandemic.

“It’s transmitted very differently than the coronavirus. And so, there’s no panic, no concern. But I just need to be proactive. That’s all. And that’s not a sign that we think something is worse than we’re being told. But I think it just, be really smart if it’s limited to these three individuals, they test negative or they’re treated. It could be contained,” she said.

The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius is believed to be the first known hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, according to the WHO.

Passengers began leaving the ship Sunday after it docked in Spain’s Canary Islands.

Officials said the outbreak involves the Andes virus, a rare type of hantavirus. The virus is usually linked to contact with infected rodent droppings and does not spread easily between people. Symptoms can include fever, chills and muscle aches.

The MV Hondius left Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1. A Dutch passenger died aboard the ship April 11, and health officials later identified a suspected outbreak while the ship was near Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.