A New Zealander and five Australians who were onboard a cruise ship which experienced a deadly hantavirus outbreak are heading home after six weeks in quarantine.
By Rowan Quinn of RNZ
The passengers were on the MV Hondius, which experienced an outbreak of the rodent-borne disease.
They had been staying in a facility near Perth, Australia, which was restaffed especially for them.
The ABC was reporting they left early on Tuesday morning, Perth time.
Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said at the weekend the group had remained well over the entire period and were continuing to test negative.
"I really want to thank them for the extraordinary way in which they've cooperated with this mandatory quarantine order. They've maintained good spirits," he said.
"And I want to thank them for the sacrifice that they have made not to return to their home and their families and their communities as quickly as I'm sure they would have liked to do..."
Staff had relocated to Perth from the Darwin-based National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, with Butler thanking them for doing that.
The last hantavirus case reported by the World Health Organisation in connection to the ship was four weeks ago in Spain, bringing the total to 13, three of them fatal.
"We're very confident, the [Australian Health Protection Committee] our chief health officers from all jurisdictions are very confident that these six passengers, five Australians, one New Zealander, are completely free of this virus and will be free to return home and not subject to any ongoing arrangements from a health point of view," Butler said.
New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade would not comment on plans to bring the New Zealander home "for privacy reasons" but said it was continuing to provide assistance and support.
An Australian in quarantine, Peter Marsh, spoke to the ABC last week, saying the group's daily routine included symptom checks and two two-hourly slots for individual walks around the grounds.
The walks made a big difference to everyone's wellbeing, he said.
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