WA news LIVE: Hantavirus cruise ship passengers to spend twice as long in Perth quarantine

12.31pm

Locals infected with hantavirus to spend twice as long in Perth quarantine

By Brittany Busch

Health Minister Mark Butler has announced six people who have returned to Australia since being exposed to hantavirus on a cruise ship will spend an extra three weeks in quarantine.

Butler said during a press conference today that two more passengers on the cruise ship earlier this month had tested positive, which demonstrated a lingering risk.

The standard quarantine time is three weeks, but Butler said the virus has an incubation period of six weeks.

“Advice is that it would be appropriate for that quarantine arrangement to remain in place for the rest of the 42-day incubation period, so as a result … an order will be made to extend that quarantine period to the 23rd of June,” Butler said.

He said the six people – four Australians, a permanent resident, and a New Zealand citizen – were in good health and had tested negative in the last couple of days.

The World Health Organisation was first notified of people falling ill on the cruise ship MV Hondius on May 2. The outbreak has since killed three passengers among the 13 people infected overall.