All posts tagged: cruise

MV Hondius hantavirus cruise ship cleared to sail again after deadly outbreak | World | News

MV Hondius hantavirus cruise ship cleared to sail again after deadly outbreak | World | News

The cruise vessel at the heart of a fatal hantavirus outbreak has been given the all-clear to return to service, Oceanwide Expeditions has announced. MV Hondius triggered a worldwide health emergency earlier this month when passengers contracted the disease. A total of 13 confirmed cases have been linked to the outbreak, resulting in three fatalities. Hantavirus is an uncommon rodent-borne virus for which no vaccines or specific treatments are available, and the virus can remain dormant in the body for up to eight weeks. However, following comprehensive cleaning and disinfection procedures, the vessel is now ready to resume operations, with the Dutch public health agency stating there are ‘no longer any obstacles to putting the Hondius back to sea’. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) instructed the 22 British passengers aboard to remain at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, in Merseyside for testing – they began quarantine on May 10. Six individuals were permitted to depart the hospital to complete their isolation at home on May 13, but the remaining 16 passengers continue to …

Hampson and Sidorova review – style over substance with a whiff of the cruise ship | Classical music

Hampson and Sidorova review – style over substance with a whiff of the cruise ship | Classical music

Schubert’s Winterreise – the composer’s great psychodrama in song – ends devastatingly. Der Leiermann conjures a chilling vision of a hurdy-gurdy man. Alone beyond the village he plays his melancholy tune, luring the narrator to him – perhaps also to his death? The haunting song, with its anchoring drone, begs for colours the piano can only suggest. Presumably that was the seed for this unusual collaboration between veteran US baritone Thomas Hampson and Latvian accordionist Ksenija Sidorova. You can see the logic that swaps piano for accordion and frames the Schubert with songs by Kurt Weill and a tango by Piazzolla: this is street music with its face washed and hair brushed, invited into the salon, the cabaret, the opera house. At least, that’s what I assume was going on. In the absence of any programme notes, texts or translations, substance was clearly secondary to style in what began to feel a lot like a vanity exercise. The concert was styled as Schubert’s Winterreise but what we got were edited highlights: a heavy-footed Gute Nacht, …

Hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship outbreak rise to 13 – POLITICO

Hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship outbreak rise to 13 – POLITICO

“The situation remains stable. Passengers who got sick are receiving needed care, while others remain in quarantine,” Tedros added. The outbreak of the rodent-borne disease was first reported on May 3 aboard the MV Hondius, which was carrying 150 passengers, and has caused three deaths. It triggered a global search for the cruise’s passengers who had already disembarked and activated disease-prevention measures across multiple countries. European public health authorities coordinated the evacuation of all passengers and crew over the past two weeks from Tenerife and the Netherlands, helping them be repatriated, tested and placed under quarantine. The ship, which had docked in Rotterdam, was set to depart for Vlissingen, in the Netherlands, but its departure was delayed after authorities said it needed additional cleaning, the boat’s tour operator said. In total, 13 cases have been reported, including 11 confirmed and two probable. Spain reported the 13th case on Monday, saying the patient had been in isolation at the Gómez Ulla military hospital in Madrid. No deaths have been reported since May 2. Other cases include a …

Cruise lines can be held liable for using docks seized under Castro, Supreme Court rules

Cruise lines can be held liable for using docks seized under Castro, Supreme Court rules

WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court on Thursday broadly upheld lawsuits by U.S. companies whose property was seized in Cuba prior to 1960, including claims against cruise ship lines that docked there in the past decade. These suits do not seek compensation from Cubans but from those who “traffic in property which was confiscated by the Cuban government.” In an 8-1 decision, the justices revived a $400-million judgment against four cruise lines whose ships stopped in Havana between 2016 and 2019. All of them used docks that were built early in the 20th century by the Havana Docks Corporation, an American company. Justice Clarence Thomas pointed to a rarely enforced 1996 law that authorized suits against those who “use property tainted by a past confiscation.” Past presidents had suspended enforcement of the law, but President Trump allowed such claims to go forward. That change in policy exposed “traffickers in confiscated property of United States nationals” to brings claims in federal courts, Thomas said. The four cruise line companies — Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Carnival Corporation, …

Prince William wildly celebrates from stands as Aston Villa cruise to Europa League glory

Prince William wildly celebrates from stands as Aston Villa cruise to Europa League glory

Inside Sport newsletter: Get an expert guide to the biggest moments shaping the world of sport Get our free Inside Sport newsletter Get our free Inside Sport newsletter Prince William erupted in celebration from the stands as he watched his beloved Aston Villa end a 44-year wait for European glory in Istanbul. The Prince of Wales was in attendance at Besiktas Park as the Villans cruised to a 3-0 win over German side Freiburg in the Europa League final. He was seen going delirious as Villa scored two stunners in quick succession to take control of the contest going into the half-time interval. Youri Tielemans broke the deadlock on 41 minutes, rifling home an exquisite volley from Morgan Rogers’ floated delivery, before Emi Buendia curled in a beauty in first-half stoppage time to double their lead. Prince William erupts in celebration as Aston Villa score during Europa League final (AP) Aston Villa were crowned Europa League champions (AP) Rogers then poked home Villa’s third before the hour-mark to put the game beyond doubt, with Unai …

How Wet Weather in Argentina Helped Fuel the Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak

How Wet Weather in Argentina Helped Fuel the Cruise Ship Hantavirus Outbreak

The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has created a global public health crisis. But the driver of it is a rodent that weighs about an ounce, and climate shifts this year that have helped increase the odds of transmission. Across the Southern Cone, researchers have long associated wetter years with explosive rodent population booms—known locally as ratadas—that can amplify hantavirus transmission. This year’s boom reflects a broader pattern of disease outbreaks shaped by climate change, environmental disruption, and a hyperconnected world. “These are emerging diseases because the distribution of both the reservoirs and the viruses is expanding,” says Karina Hodara, a researcher at the Faculty of Agronomy at the University of Buenos Aires who studies hantavirus ecology. “Humans travel across continents in a matter of hours.” The long-tailed pygmy rice rat is the common name for several species that live in Chile and Argentina that can harbor hantavirus. Each species is associated with different hantaviruses depending on geography. It’s still unclear where the first passengers that got sick with the Andes virus …