US prepares to repatriate Americans on hantavirus-stricken ship

The United States will send a plane to repatriate Americans traveling aboard the cruise ship affected by an outbreak of hantavirus.

Of the 120 passengers on the cruise ship - named MV Hondius and operated by Oceanwide Expeditions - 17 are Americans.

A spokesperson from the Department of State (DOS) reported that a plane is already preparing to "repatriate" the Americans inside the ship.

"The State Department is arranging a repatriation flight to facilitate the safe return of the U.S. passengers aboard this ship," the DOS spokesman said, in statements picked up by AFP.

He also added that the DOS is "in direct communication with the Americans" aboard the MV Hondius and is in talks with the government of Spain to coordinate "consular assistance" with those affected.

The cruise ship is scheduled to dock in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain).

NJ monitors two residents potentially exposed to hantavirus

New Jersey Governor, Mikie Sherrill, reported this Friday via her X account that the Department of Health of the state was notified by the CDC about two residents who "were potentially exposed to a person infected with hantavirus after that individual departed from the cruise ship MV Hondius."

As Sherrill detailed, the two individuals "were not passengers on the ship, and the potential exposure occurred during air travel abroad." Both individuals "are not currently showing symptoms," the risk to the general public is considered very low and "there are no confirmed cases of hantavirus in New Jersey," she said. Local health authorities continue to monitor the situation.