Four Canadian citizens, who were aboard a cruise ship stricken with a rare hantavirus outbreak, are being flown to British Columbia by the federal government. Passengers were transported on a chartered aircraft to Bagotville, Quebec and will be assessed and isolated for a minimum of 21 days upon arrival in B.C.
The four Canadian citizens who were aboard a cruise ship stricken with a rare hantavirus outbreak are being flown to British Columbia , according the federal government.
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Passengers board a plane bound for Canada, after disembarking from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026.
The four Canadian citizens who were aboard a cruise ship stricken by a rare hantavirus outbreak are being flown to British Columbia, according to the federal government. In a Sunday bulletin, the Public Health Agency of Canada said the Canadians were first travelling on a chartered aircraft from Tenerife, Spain to Bagotville, Que.
"Upon arrival in B.C. , the travellers will be assessed by local public health before leaving the airport to stay at a pre-determined location to self-isolate for a minimum of 21 days" dated back to May 6, the agency said. WATCH | Canadians leave cruise ship stricken by hantavirus outbreak:Passengers aboard the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak have disembarked in Tenerife, Spain, transported to shore by small boats and taken directly to the airport on sealed buses.
Canada sent a plane to retrieve four Canadians who were on the MV Hondius, while Spanish authorities say everyone still on board remains asymptomatic. B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is scheduled to hold a live briefing on the situation at noon PT. In a statement, she said the passengers would isolate in pre-arranged lodgings in B.C. for their three-week isolation period, which may be extended up to 42 days if necessary, due to the hantavirus' incubation period.
"At no point during their arrival or isolation period will they be in contact with the public. They will be monitored daily by local public health teams to ensure that they remain well and are safely isolating," Henry said.
"It has been a very challenging time for these four Canadians and public health teams are committed to supporting them through this process. " Henry added that hantavirus is "very different" from respiratory viruses like COVID-19, and because it does not spread in the same way is not viewed as a disease with pandemic potential.
However, she said B.C. health officials have protocols and specialized teams in place if necessary, including the B.C. Biocontainment Treatment Centre at Surrey Memorial Hospital. PHAC said a Canadian consular official had been on the ground in Tenerife since Thursday providing support to the four Canadians who had been aboard the MV Hondius. All four have been following isolation protocols on the ship since May 4, and remain asymptomatic, according to PHAC.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship's owner, says there were four Canadians among about 130 other asymptomatic passengers on board the MV Hondius when it reached port in the Canary Islands on Sunday. Passengers were given a final health assessment before being brought ashore by small vessels, with physical distancing measures in place, according to PHAC. They were then screened again by Spanish health officials before being transported by bus directly to the airport, the agency said.
A PHAC officer was aboard the repatriation flight, which involved public health measures including masking and physical distancing. The first group of passengers disembarked from the MV Hondius in Tenerife, Spain, on Sunday May 10, 2026 after health officials boarded the ship to conduct evacuation procedures. Spanish authorities say everyone still on board the ship remains asymptomatic for hantavirus.
Three people have died since the outbreak began, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus, which can cause life-threatening illness. Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn’t easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
A couple from the Grey Bruce region of Ontario disembarked from the ship in late April before the outbreak was declared and have showed no symptoms. Four other Canadians — from Quebec, Alberta and Ontario — were not on the ship but may have come into contact with someone infected with hantavirus while flying, the federal government said.
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