MANILA: Twenty-four of the 38 Filipino crew members aboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius will soon be repatriated to the Netherlands, where they will be quarantined, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Sunday (May 10).
According to DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac, the 24 Filipino crew members are hotel stewards in the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius.
Four of them are set to be repatriated within the day, while the rest will be repatriated on Monday.
“And there in the Netherlands, they will commence their quarantine period, which will run up to about six weeks,” said Cacdac in a virtual press conference.
Meanwhile, the 14 remaining crew members—all of whom are part of the ship’s deck and engine staff—will remain on the ship as it sails to Rotterdam in the Netherlands from where it is currently anchored at Tenerife, Spain.
“And upon arrival of the ship at port (in Rotterdam), the 14 crew will likewise commence their own quarantine, pursuant to the quarantine period of six weeks,” said Cacdac.
“Now, what happens after the six-week quarantine period to the Netherlands is that all 38 Filipino crew will ultimately fly home to the Philippines,” he added.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa in the same virtual briefing explained that all crew members will undergo quarantine as the incubation period for the hantavirus can be as long as 45 days from the time of contact.
Asked if the Filipino crew members would still have to be tested once they arrived back in the Philippines, Herbosa responded that it would no longer be necessary.
Herbosa then also reiterated that the hantavirus would not result in a pandemic like Covid-19 as it does not spread as fast. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
