TWO IRISH PEOPLE who were on board the cruise ship struck by hantavirus have begun quarantining after landing in Ireland.

The MV Hondius, which is at the centre of the hantavirus outbreak, docked in Tenerife in the Canary Islands on Sunday morning, where a controlled evacuation took place.

The two were among nearly 150 people on board the ship.

They’ll now have to quarantine for five weeks, as per the instructions of the HSE and the government. They’ll stay in an HSE-run facility, where they’ll be monitored.

Flight-tracking websites showed the plane left Tenerife for Ireland at around 5.40pm and landed back at the military air base in west Co Dublin shortly after 9pm.

Two ambulances were seen leaving the airport just before 9.30pm.

Most passengers and crew of the MV Hondius cruise ship successfully disembarked today. I’m grateful to Ministers @Monica_Garcia_G, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and @avtorresp, their @sanidadgob, @interiorgob and @territorialgob teams, and the whole government of #Spain for their… pic.twitter.com/6Fiz1ODVVH

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 10, 2026

The Department of Health said two passengers would be accompanied by HSE medics during the “aeromedical evacuation” from the MV Hondius yesterday.

They were said to have followed isolation protocols on the ship and were in “good health”.

Three passengers from the ship – a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman – have died, while others have fallen sick with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents.

The Andes strain of hantavirus, the only strain that can transmit from person to person, has been confirmed among those who have tested positive, fuelling international concern.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who oversaw the ship evacuation, said the risk to the public and the people of the Canaries remained low.

In an open letter to the people of Tenerife, he wrote: “I need you to hear me clearly. This is not another Covid.”

Spanish authorities said on Sunday that no passengers on the ship were showing symptoms of the virus and the disembarkation process was “proceeding well”.

They began the evacuation of the ship by nationality and ferried passengers to port by small boat.

Passengers were told to leave their luggage on the ship and were only allowed to take a small bag with essential items.

While they were being bussed from the port at Granadilla de Abona to Tenerife South Airport, some passengers, wearing blue PPE, waved and gave thumbs up gestures as they passed watching media.

Those crew members and a nurse from the Netherlands, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands where it will undergo disinfection, the WHO said.

With reporting by PA