American passengers evacuated from the MV Hondius, a cruise ship struck by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, will not necessarily be quarantined on their return to the United States, CDC acting director Jay Bhattacharya said on Sunday.

Three passengers have died and others have fallen ill aboard the ship, which has docked in Spain’s Canary Islands. The US has organized a repatriation flight for the 17 Americans on board, all of whom are currently asymptomatic.

What will happen to Americans from the hantavirus cruise ship when they return to the US?

The 17 American passengers will be taken to a specialized facility in Nebraska, where health officials will assess their individual risk rather than automatically quarantine them. One passenger, who tested positive for the virus but has no symptoms, will go directly to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. The remaining passengers will be evaluated at the National Quarantine Unit before any further decisions are made.

Bhattacharya told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that officials would “interview them and assess them for risk” based on whether they had close contact with someone who was symptomatic. Depending on that assessment, passengers would be allowed to remain in Nebraska or return home, provided their home situation allowed for safe travel without exposing others. In either case, all passengers will remain under observation for several weeks.

The biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center was activated ahead of the arrivals. Spokesperson Kayla Thomas said passengers were “expected to land in Omaha early Monday morning.”

Is the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius a public health emergency?

Bhattacharya sought to reassure the American public, drawing a clear line between the hantavirus situation and the Covid-19 pandemic. “This is not Covid,” he said. “We shouldn’t be panicking when the evidence doesn’t warrant it.” He added that if the threat level were higher, authorities would have responded differently.

The CDC notes that hantavirus is “generally only contagious when people exhibit symptoms,” which is a key reason officials say mandatory quarantine is not warranted for asymptomatic passengers. Bhattacharya also pointed to a 2018 outbreak of the same strain of hantavirus, which was successfully contained using the same protocol now being applied to the MV Hondius passengers.

What is the current status of the hantavirus cruise ship?

The MV Hondius has arrived in the Canary Islands, where passengers have been disembarking for repatriation to their home countries. Seven Americans left the ship earlier in the journey and are already under observation by health authorities.

The 17 remaining Americans represent the last group awaiting repatriation by the US government.

Responding to criticism that US health authorities have communicated too little about the hantavirus risk, particularly given public sensitivity after the Covid-19 pandemic, Bhattacharya said the two situations were not comparable. The monitoring period for all returning passengers will run for several weeks, consistent with the approach taken for the Americans who departed the ship earlier.