38 Pinoys on cruise ship face 42-day quarantine
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the 38 Filipino crew members aboard MV Hondius will undergo six weeks of quarantine in the Netherlands after hantavirus cases were reported on board the Dutch-operated cruise ship, leaving three passengers dead.
In a joint virtual media briefing with Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and Foreign Undersecretary Ezzedin Tago on Sunday night, Cacdac said that although all Filipino seafarers tested negative for the rodent-borne disease, they would still need to undergo quarantine as part of health protocols.
According to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) secretary, MV Hondius has 38 Filipino crew members—24 of them stewards or hotel workers, while the remaining 14 are part of the deck and engine staff.
Cacdac said that initially, the 24 Filipino stewards or hotel workers will disembark from the ship which is now docked at the Tenerife port in the Canary Islands. They will be transported to the airport and taken to the Netherlands.
Second stop
“And there in the Netherlands, they will commence their quarantine period, which will run up to about six weeks,” he added.
On the other hand, the 14 remaining crew members who are part of the ship’s deck and engine staff will remain on the ship as it sails to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Cacdac said that if they remain free of symptoms after six weeks, they would be flown home to the Philippines.
According to him, two foreign passengers of the cruise ship were reportedly infected with hantavirus following a birdwatching trip in South America just before boarding the vessel.
“As of now, the Filipinos have tested negative. We’ll just watch them for 42 days in the Netherlands,” Herbosa said.
Cacdac also assured the families of the seafarers that they would continue to receive their salaries and benefits even under quarantine.
“Yes, we’ve talked to them. Yes, they’re all in good condition and they assured us that they tested negative for the virus,” he said.
According to Herbosa, the Philippines has never recorded a hantavirus case, as he said the disease does not spread as easily as COVID-19.
He added that hantavirus is a rare disease not found in the Philippines and is usually linked to exposure to rodents, particularly their urine, feces or body fluids.
The disease’s Andes variant, circulating in South America, can also spread through very close human contact, unlike the African variant, which mainly requires exposure to rodents, Herbosa said.
The health secretary noted that hantavirus has a high mortality rate of around 30 percent to 50 percent. It primarily attacks the lungs, causing severe pneumonia and respiratory complications and there is currently no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for it.
Quarantine is necessary because hantavirus may incubate for up to 45 days.
“If they (Filipino crew) do not exhibit any symptoms, that means they will be determined to be disease-free, and the risk of having the hantavirus is very low,” Herbosa said.
Review of ship protocols
Following the incident, Cacdac said the DMW would review current health and safety measures for Filipino seafarers assigned to cruise ships.
He added that working and living conditions on board ships are always governed by international standards as well as guidelines set by the World Health Organization.
However, the Maritime Industry Tripartite Council would still convene to discuss the MV Hondius case and possible additional protective measures, Cacdac said.
“Of course, we will invite the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs to that meeting. So definitely, we will take up the Hondius case in our subcommittee Maritime Industry Tripartite Council meeting and how, among others, we could improve our standards of protection for our seafarers,” Cacdac said.
According to Herbosa, the government is not recommending mandatory hantavirus screening for overseas Filipino workers because the virus remains rare and non-endemic in the Philippines.
Tago said Philippine diplomats in the Netherlands would continue monitoring the condition of the Filipino crew throughout the quarantine period.
