Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance. We begin with passengers from the Hantavirus hit cruise ship who have been airlifted to their home countries following the outbreak. Two of those returned to Ireland yesterday. They're now entering a period of quarantine. Well, to give us the latest on all of this, I'm joined by senior reporter with the Daily Mail, Nick Pisa.
Good morning, Nick.
Good morning, Clare, to your new listeners.
So there's quite a lot to talk about here, including the news now that we have more symptomatic people.
Chapter 2: What happened to the passengers on the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship?
Isn't that right?
That's right. Yes.
Overnight, we understand that a French lady has tested positive and also an American passenger on board the cruise ship who's returned to the United States is showing, quotes, mild symptoms of the Hantavirus, which is quite worrying, basically, because the World Health Organization were very keen to say that the best thing to do, the best way to move forward from this crisis was to take the passengers off board, take the passengers off the
and repatriate them to their own countries. And now we have two cases in countries that have received those passengers. And the World Health Organization is very keen to stress that, look, this isn't another COVID. But people will be questioning whether this was the right thing to do to allow the passengers off and let them go back to their own country.
And what happens to those passengers when they return to their own countries?
Well, they are supposed to be, well, for example, the British ones, and I'm sure the same case, the same as with the Irish ones, they were tested in Tenerife before they were allowed to leave. And if they weren't showing any symptoms, they were then put on board a plane and taken back to their relevant countries.
So just to refer back to your first question, this is quite interesting because those, the French lady who was let off the ship and the American were both displaying no symptoms. And yet overnight, they have now developed the hunter virus vaccine. and they are now quarantining back in their relevant countries. But yes, those that were allowed out have now flown home.
They will be tested for the next three days in the UK. They're going to be tested at a specialist hospital on Merseyside. If they don't show any symptoms, they're going to be allowed home and they're going to be told to self-isolate. The onus is going to be on themselves to lock themselves away. But the thing is, Claire, it's a six-week, possibly up to eight-week incubation period. I mean,
We have to hope that these people will stay indoors for eight weeks. It's a tough ask for anyone, isn't it?
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Chapter 3: What are the symptoms and risks associated with Hantavirus?
They're going to monitor them and see if there is any displaying of those symptoms. You know, it's basically a high temperature fever, that sort of thing. But it's not going to be made in the UK. It's not going to be made a legal mandatory requirement. Whereas in France, I understand, and in Spain, they are going to be told to legally stay at home.
The onus, as I say, on the UK people, on the UK fashions, is to ensure that they stay at home and they monitor themselves. Whereas, as I say, elsewhere in Europe, it's going to be made mandatory for them to stay at home. There is going to be legislation being brought in by the French government, I understand.
And what have you heard about the quarantine conditions in the UK for the 22 people who've arrived back there? Where will they be staying for the initial period?
So they're going to be staying in the Arrow Park Hospital in Merseyside, which is actually where passengers off cruise ships back when COVID spread in 2020 were taken to and were kept there in the initial part of quarantine. They're going to be tested and going to be checked over. And if after 72 hours they're OK, they're going to be allowed to go home and self-isolate at home.
But I think the key thing is, you know, six weeks at home. It's going to be very, very difficult. difficult for these people, and it raises the question of whether it was the right idea to take those people off the cruise ship. I mean, the World Health Organization are trying to keep things level-headed and calm, and they're saying, look, you know, it's not another COVID.
It's far more difficult to spread. It's a lot harder to spread, so please be reassured. I think it's also quite evident how seriously they are taking this, though, that the World Health Organization boss
director, sorry, Tedros Ghebreyesus was actually in Tenerife yesterday to oversee the evacuation of the passengers from that cruise ship and to reassure locals in Tenerife that there was no wider threat because they were really worried, the locals there in Tenerife.
Well, yeah, and he felt compelled to issue that really lengthy statement reassuring people in Tenerife about how this works, about how this virus is transmitted and to reassure them that they were safe.
Yeah, yeah, that's right. This is an anti-strain of the virus. It passes. It can pass from human to human, but it is very difficult to pass from human to human. And that's the key thing that he was trying to reiterate yesterday, as mentioned a few minutes ago, that there were demonstrations there in Tenerife. So in order to ensure that there was as little contact as possible with locals there,
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Chapter 4: How is the World Health Organization handling the Hantavirus outbreak?
There is a case that I know of in the UK, which was sort of quite concerning, is that you and your listeners may remember there was a Dutch lady whose husband was one of the first passengers to pass away on board the MB Hondias. And she, at the end of April, took an Airlink flight from St Helena, which is a little island in the South Atlantic, to Johannesburg.
And she was on board a little shuttle plane with around 80 other passengers. And they have been contact tracing those 80 passengers on that flight because the lady in question, the Dutch lady, then tried to board a Dutch flight, KLM flight to Amsterdam. But the crew on that KLM flight were so concerned for her health that they disembarked her from that plane.
And she later passed away from Hantavirus herself as well. But we know that there was a passenger on board that Airlink flight, a British man, who says that he wasn't contacted at all. And he, in fact, contacted health authorities in the UK himself to say, hey, hold on a minute. I was on board that same flight. What should I do?
Chapter 5: What quarantine measures are in place for returning passengers?
And they've advised him to quarantine again for six weeks. And that's a long time. It's going to play There's going to be a lot of pressure on people with their work life and also their personal life as well, isn't there?
And you have spoken to this Turkish blogger, Nick, who was on the ship, on the Hondias. What did he tell you about conditions on board there?
Yeah, so it's fascinating speaking to him. A guy called Rui Senet, who was there to make a documentary about And he joined the boat at Ushuaia, which is a South American port down in Argentina, on April the 1st. And he stayed on board for three weeks. And he was keen to stress that the environment, sorry, the hygiene conditions on board the ship were important.
were fine and he had no problem with that. But what he said was worrying was the fact that when the first passengers started to feel ill, there was no lab on board that ship. And so they had no idea of what the first casualty died of, what the cause of death was. And he said that initially the captain gathered all the passengers together
no quarantining or no face masking or anything like that, and reassured them that the passenger who'd passed away, the Dutch man, the Dutch ornithologist, whose wife later died, had said, look, this is just natural cause. It's one of these things that happens at sea. It's very sad, but there is nothing to be concerned about. And the Turkish blogger then said to me, well, then for 12 days,
13 days there was interaction there was mingling uh with other passengers and no um no there was no health restrictions or anything like that no one was wearing masks and and that's he says that's what really worried him uh thinking about it with hindsight as to how the virus could have spread nick thank you very much good to talk to you and thank you for that update nick pisa there who is a senior reporter with the daily mail
The Clare Byrne Show. With Aviva Insurance. Weekday mornings at 9 on Newstalk. Conversation that counts.
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