SINGAPORE – Two Singapore residents who were on board a hantavirus-hit cruise ship continue to test negative for the disease, and have been allowed to continue their quarantine at home should they choose to do so until June 6.

Their most recent tests for the virus on May 22 turned out negative, including for the Andes strain responsible for an outbreak on the ship, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said in response to queries from The Straits Times.

The 67-year-old Singaporean man and 65-year-old Singapore permanent resident were isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) after returning to Singapore, as part of the recommended 42-day monitoring period after their last exposure to the virus.

Most hantavirus cases are expected to show signs of infection within this window.

Both men were last exposed to the hantavirus on April 25, when they shared a flight with a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to the South African city of Johannesburg, after disembarking from the MV Hondius ship. They returned to Singapore separately on May 2 and May 6.

The pair were allowed to transition to home quarantine for the last 12 days of their quarantine from May 25 if they chose to do so. CDA did not reveal if they took up the option of going home.

Both of them are being monitored daily by the CDA and will be tested for the virus again before being released from quarantine.

“This ensures protection for the community and is aligned with the latest risk assessment,” CDA said.

The two men were on board the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius when it left the Argentinian port of Ushuaia on April 1, and disembarked at the remote British island of St Helena on April 24.

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