The first person from Poland placed under observation after the detection of hantavirus on MV Hondius

On May 9, Paweł Grzesiowski, the chief sanitary inspector, in an interview with TVN24, informed that there was a person from Poland on the passenger lists. “potentially likely to have had contact with one of the sick people in the first period, i.e. after April 24”.

– He is not a sick person, even suspected of being sick, because he is asymptomatic. We are also not sure whether she actually contacted the patient. However, there is such a risk because these people’s paths crossed at the same time. Most likely at the airport in Johannesburg, Grzesiowski said. He also assured that the person in question had been informed about the situation. However, it has not been revealed whether it is a woman or a man.

– She has not returned to Poland yet. He is still abroad. Contact with her was by telephone, Grzesiowski revealed. – Our duty is to reach every person who may have had potential contact with the sick person. Inform about it, ask about your health condition and put yourself under epidemic surveillance for six weeks from the last day of potential contact, he explained.

Now this person must monitor his or her health condition, stay in touch with the GIS, and inform about the change of his or her place of stay. She is not subject to quarantine or isolation. – The idea is to maintain this contact for six weeks from the date of contact, i.e. until the beginning of June – added Grzesiowski.

Let us remind you that the captain of the ship is also Polish and, according to GIS findings, he is healthy and shows no symptoms of illness. The expert noted that there may be additional Poles who probably had contact with the sick.

– It is difficult to rule out that the 30 or so people who left the ship in April and returned, mostly on scheduled planes, did not meet a Polish citizen at the airport or on the plane – he explained.

What about evacuating the ship?

The inspector said that according to information disclosed by WHO “there are no longer sick people on the ship.” – They were evacuated on May 6 and 7. These are two people who were transported by ambulance to the Netherlands. Previously, one person was transported to Great Britain, another even earlier to Switzerland. We have five sick people off the ship who are in hospital – one in South Africa and four in Europe. The remaining three died, Grzesiowski reported.

There will also be two experts on the ship – from WHO and the European Center for Disease Control, who will supervise the evacuation of passengers to land. Then, these people are to be transported by special planes to the hospital in Spain that will perform the functions “isolation room”.

The Chief Sanitary Inspector estimated that now “the situation is under control”. – It is now more of a logistical operation, because these people come from 20 countries. This is a problem because these countries approach quarantine obligations differently. There is also the issue of the 30 or so people who left the ship before the epidemic outbreak was identified, i.e. on April 25. (…). Now they all need to be traced and their health status checked, the expert reported.

Hantavirus on a cruise ship. Could there be an epidemic?

When asked if the virus could spread more, he said the risk was zero.

– We know what this virus is, we know what its symptoms are. All sick people we know about are under supervision. This virus does not have pandemic potential. Out of 150 people, eight, not 150, got sick, so this virus is not as infectious as, for example, Covid – said Grzesiowski.