Topline
Seventeen U.S. passengers who were evacuated from the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship—including one who has tested positive for the virus—landed in Nebraska early on Monday, hours after health officials noted that one of them has tested positive for the virus while another is showing mild symptoms.
Key Facts
The plane carrying the evacuees landed at Eppley Airfield in Omaha shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time, KETV and CNN reported.
The U.S. passengers disembarked from the ship on Sunday in the Spanish Canary Island territory of Tenerife in the North Atlantic and were seen wearing face masks, gowns and other protective gear.
All 17 passengers then boarded an evacuation flight arranged by the State Department, and the BBC reported that a British national who is a U.S. resident was also on board.
According to the HHS, the two passengers were moved into the plane’s biocontainment units “out of an abundance of caution.”
Tangent
Tracking data on Flight Aware showed that the evacuated passengers were flown on board a Boeing 747 jet operated by Kallita Air, an American cargo plane company headquartered in Michigan. The plane landed at Eppley Airfield at 2:29 a.m. CDT after nine and half hours flight.
What Happens After The Evacuated Passengers Land In Nebraska?
According to the HHS, the passengers will first be taken to its Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The passenger who tested positive will be taken to a separate biocontainment unit at the medical center. At the respective facilities, the evacuees will undergo “clinical assessment and receive appropriate care and support based on their condition.” It is unclear if the other passengers will be tested again after landing in the U.S. On Saturday, CDC officials said the passengers would not be tested because they were not symptomatic, but it’s unclear whether the positive test and one symptomatic passenger have changed that.
What Has The University Of Nebraska Medical Center Said?
A spokesperson for the University of Nebraska Medical Center told the Associated Press that the passenger who tested positive will be taken into “the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival,” while other passengers “will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring.” Is a press conference on Friday, the center’s officials said that each individual quarantining at the facility will have their own rooms. “Each of the rooms looks very much like like a hotel room, with the availability of Wi-Fi, exercise equipment. If the quarantine is prolonged, those would be important in terms of making sure they’re comfortable.”
Further Reading
Americans Evacuated From Hantavirus Cruise Land In Nebraska—U.S. And French Passenger Test Positive (Latest Updates) (Forbes)
