Two Irish passengers who were on the hantavirus-affected cruise ship are currently isolating at a HSE-run facility, the Chief Medical Officer has confirmed, reports The Mirror.
Interim health chief Professor Mary Horgan said both women will undergo a total 42-day quarantine, with their isolation period beginning on May 6 while they were still on board the infected vessel.
However, it is not yet clear whether they will remain in the HSE isolation facility for the entire duration of the quarantine period.
Ireland’s top medical official said neither woman is showing symptoms and both are in “good spirits”, though they will be offered psychological support due to the extended isolation period, reports The Mirror.
One of the passengers has been named as Ann Lane, who previously worked as a personal assistant to former president Mary Robinson and Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik.
Speaking on RTÉ’s *Morning Ireland*, Professor Horgan was asked whether the HSE is prepared for all possible scenarios while caring for the two women, reports The Mirror.
She said: “Absolutely, the Mater Hospital has the national isolation unit. It has a team of experts in infectious diseases, intensive care, nurses who are all trained up to deal with any potential issues that the two passengers may have.”
Professor Horgan also explained that there is no vaccine for hantavirus, but stressed that this is not the beginning of another pandemic and “not Covid”, reports The Mirror.
Around 149 passengers and crew were stranded on the cruise ship after hantavirus was detected while it was sailing from South America across the Atlantic Ocean on April 11.
Five people contracted the rodent-borne virus onboard, and three have died, in what has become a major public health incident, reports The Mirror.
The ship later docked off the coast of Granadilla in Tenerife on Sunday, before the two Irish passengers were flown back to Dublin on the Government’s new Dassault Falcon 6X jet.
They arrived at Baldonnel Aerodrome shortly after 9pm on Sunday, with two ambulances seen leaving the base shortly afterwards.
Professor Horgan also reassured the public that the risk remains low, reports The Mirror.
She said: “We don’t see this transmitting in the community at all. But on the precautionary principle, we have adhered to all of the infection prevention and control precautions that are required to keep the two passengers and the broader public safe”, reports The Mirror.
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