Medics escort a patient who was evacuated from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship to an ambulance in Amsterdam on Wednesday.Peter Dejong/The Associated Press
Two Canadians who disembarked a cruise ship that was hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have returned home, where they are self-isolating and being monitored by local health authorities, federal officials say.
A third person who was not on the ship but came in contact with a symptomatic individual on a flight home is also following similar protocols, Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a joint statement on Thursday. “This individual is not considered a high-risk close contact by the World Health Organization,” the statement read.
Two individuals are located in Ontario, and one is in Quebec. The statement did not specify which ones were on the cruise ship.
All three are asymptomatic.
The statement was released after three non-Canadian passengers died on an Oceanwide Expeditions cruise ship from hantavirus, which is typically spread by rodents, but in rare cases, can be transmitted person to person.
Four Canadians are among the stranded passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship off the west coast of Africa. Consular officials are on their way to the Canary Islands to monitor and assist with the process when they disembark the ship, the government said.
The vessel set sail from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 and remains off the coast of Cabo Verde. It is expected to arrive in the Canary Islands on Saturday or Sunday.
Ms. Michel and Ms. Anand said the federal government is working with partners, as well as the World Health Organization, on necessary measures to keep Canadians safe.
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said Thursday that the province is preparing to see if other Canadians still on board the ship will be returning to the province.
Ms. Jones told reporters that the incubation and monitoring period will be around 30 days.