An Australian contingent who were evacuated from the hantavirus affected expedition vessel MV Hondius appears likely to exceed the relatively narrow timeframe allotted by Dutch authorities.
Canberra struggles to obtain an aircraft and its accompanying crew who are ready to return the individuals back to Western Australia.
Four Australian citizens, an Australian permanent resident, one New Zealander and one British citizen living in Australia made their landing in the vicinity of Amsterdam on Tuesday morning AEST.
Australia’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Dr. Greg French, greeted the contingent at the airport, while keeping his distance due to biosecurity procedures.
According to the Dutch authorities, the Australian evacuees will only remain in their temporary quarantine period within the country for up to 48 hours.
Australia’s Health Minister Mark Butler admitted that no arrangements had been finalized for a chartered flight to Perth, pointing to the need for additional arrangements regarding potential refueling stops along the way and having flight crews ready to undergo quarantine.
Despite this, he remained confident that the deadline would still be met.
Australia’s Health Minister Mark Butler explained: “It’s a difficult logistical challenge in that you’ve got to have crew willing to isolate at the end
A layover in the Netherlands was not part of the itinerary.
However, the initial plan of flying straight from the Canary Islands, Spain, where the group left from, to Australia on an airline charter was aborted due to the absence of the plane, necessitating the diversion to Amsterdam.
As per reports, there are no signs of illness in any of the six individuals involved.
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Upon arrival in the country, the six individuals will undergo a 21 day period of compulsory isolation at the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience in Western Australia, which is run by the federal government.
The treatment will be provided by the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre in Darwin with WA Health personnel only intervening if they show serious symptoms.
The federal government has included hantavirus in the Biosecurity Act to make the quarantine mandatory and Mr. Butler has said that the measures being taken are among the most stringent worldwide.
The MV Hondius departed Argentina on 1 April, with 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries.
The outbreak has since claimed three lives with the World Health Organisation recording nine reported cases and seven confirmed, linked to the rare Andes strain.
Operator Oceanwide Expeditions said 122 guests and crew had now been repatriated and the vessel was sailing on to Rotterdam for disinfection with 25 crew, two medical staff and the body of a German passenger who died on board.
Hantaviruses are normally transmitted through contact with rodent droppings and seldom spread from person to person, although WHO scientists have suggested human transmission with the Andes strain.
