Spaniards in hantavirus quarantine with negative PCR tests can receive visitors from Monday

The hantavirus health crisis appears to be easing, perhaps permanently, not only in Spain, but also in other countries where passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive.

Close contacts of patients are testing negative and isolation measures are being relaxed as the risk of further infections decreases.

In Spain, the Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that the 13 people under quarantine at the Gómez Ulla hospital will be allowed to leave their rooms, use common areas and receive visitors starting next Monday, provided their PCR tests on Sunday are negative.

Meanwhile, the 70-year-old patient with confirmed hantavirus is in stable condition and "progressing favourably", as Health Minister Mónica García stated.

Furthermore, those in contact with the two women under isolation in Alicante and Barcelona will also be able to begin receiving visitors next week, once they receive a negative PCR test result seven days after their admission, in accordance with the protocol.

"With all due caution, this is good news," García said on Thursday.

Initially, the 13 people at the Gómez Ulla hospital, who will be tested weekly, will have to remain at the facility for 28 days. If all their PCR tests are negative during that time, the medical team will assess whether they can complete the remainder of their quarantine, until 21 June, at home.

García reported that on Wednesday representatives from the ministry had contacted the patients to inform them directly about the next steps regarding their health situation.

Among all the positive messages, García referred to her clash with the Canary Islands regional government during this health emergency. García criticised regional president Fernando Clavijo for complaining about the cruise ship passengers not having their PCR tests performed in the Canary Islands, but rather in Madrid.

"The only laboratory currently accredited to guarantee the performance of hantavirus PCR tests is the laboratory of the national microbiology centre (CNM) in Majadahonda," García stated.

The minister highlighted the inconsistency in Clavijo's demands. "What the Canary Islands regional government is implying again is that we should have carried out those PCR tests in the Canary Islands and therefore, we should have left people waiting there for 24 hours, which contradicts that same regional government's request that people spend the shortest possible time on the islands," García said.

"This would have meant that the French woman would have fallen ill on Canary Island soil or that the Spanish patient, who later tested positive and began to show symptoms this Wednesday, would have fallen ill on Canary Island soil. The protocols never considered this measure because the aim was an efficient and rapid evacuation to the countries of origin," García concluded.

The minister also described the international monitoring of the disease as a "global success and a testament to multilateralism".

"All countries are meticulously monitoring each and every case and contact," García said

In a public letter on Thursday, Director-General of the WHO (World Health Organization) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus once again praised Tenerife's "moral courage" during the disembarkation operation and the "commitment" of the Spanish government.

Meanwhile, in Europe, tests conducted on suspected cases also point to a favourable resolution of the health crisis. Dutch health authorities stated on Thursday that their 26 nationals who had travelled on the ship and were repatriated from Tenerife on Monday night had tested negative. As a precaution, they will continue to quarantine for six weeks at their homes.

Similar is the siutation for the 26 French citizens identified as close contacts of hantavirus cases. All of them have tested negative, as French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said on her social media accounts. She also noted that, in any case, they will continue their 42-day hospital isolation, with tests three times a week.