A government-chartered flight carrying four Australian citizens, one permanent resident and a New Zealander has landed at an RAAF base near Perth, Western Australia, as authorities move to contain any potential spread of the hantavirus.
The group arrived on Friday morning local time, according to local media reports. Federal health minister Mark Butler confirmed that all six tested negative and showed no symptoms of the virus before boarding the aircraft in the Netherlands.
“They will be taken immediately to a quarantine facility located virtually next to the airport, where they will be retested,” Butler said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended a 42-day quarantine period for all passengers. Health experts have urged calm, stressing that the virus is far less transmissible than COVID-19 and poses a low risk to the general public.
Hantavirus is primarily spread by rodents, though human-to-human transmission can occur in rare cases. According to the WHO, the illness typically begins with flu-like symptoms – including fatigue and fever – between one and eight weeks after exposure.
