MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Six passengers from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak arrived Friday in Australia for a quarantine expected to last at least three weeks.
The Gulfstream long-range business jet carrying them from the Netherlands landed at RAAF Base Pearce outside the Western Australia state capital, Perth. The passengers, crew and a doctor who accompanied them were taken by bus to the nearby Bullsbrook quarantine facility.
Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said the government would implement one of world's strongest quarantine responses to the outbreak.
He said passengers of the cruise ship MV Hondius who returned to the United States and most European countries would spend a few days in a quarantine center before they were sent home.
"We have taken the decision to take a stronger approach to quarantine arrangements than that because we are determined to ensure there is no risk at all of any transmission of this virus into the Australian community,” Butler told reporters in his hometown of Adelaide.
The five Australians and one New Zealand citizen will spend the three-week quarantine period in the facility that had remained largely unused since it was built in 2022 is response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A decision had yet to be made on what precautions should be taken for the remainder of the 42-day period of potential incubation that the World Health Organization had identified, Butler said.
The six passengers all tested negative for the virus before they left the Netherlands, had been assessed by a doctor during the flight and would undergo more detailed health assessments at Bullsbrook, Butler said.
The MV Hondius ship was on a cruise from Argentina to the Antarctic and then to several isolated islands in the South Atlantic Ocean when the hantavirus outbreak was identified. Three people among the 11 cases from the ship have died.
With the evacuation of all passengers and many crew members completed, the MV Hondius is now sailing back to the Netherlands, where it will be cleaned and disinfected.
Passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius are driven in a bus after they arrived in Perth, Australia, from the Netherlands on Friday, May 15, 2026. (Aaron Bunch/AAP Image via AP)
A jet carrying passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius arrives at RAAF Base Pearce in Perth, Australia, from the Netherlands on Friday, May 15, 2026. (Aaron Bunch/AAP Image via AP)
TOKYO (AP) — Injured Premier League winger Kaoru Mitoma was left out of Japan’s World Cup squad on Friday when coach Hajime Moriyasu named his 26 players for the tournament starting next month in North America.
Captain and Liverpool defensive midfielder Wataru Endo and veteran fullback Yuto Nagatomo were included.
The 28-year-old Mitoma suffered a hamstring injury during Brighton’s 3-0 win over Wolves in the Premier League last weekend.
“The medical team assessed that it would be difficult for him to get back to fitness during the tournament,” Moriyasu said.
Monaco forward Takumi Minamino also missed out after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in December.
In 2022 in Qatar, Japan won its group after upset victories over Germany and Spain before losing in the round of 16 on penalties to eventual semifinalists Croatia.
Japan is on a five-match winning streak heading into its final pre-World Cup friendly against Iceland in Tokyo on May 31.
The streak started last October with a 3-2 win over Brazil in Tokyo when the home side came back from 2-0 down to beat the South Americans for the first time.
It was also the last time Japan conceded a goal. Japan also beat England 1-0 on March 31 at Wembley after defeating Scotland 1-0 at Glasgow three days earlier.
Japan qualified for its first World Cup at France in 1998 and co-hosted the event with South Korea in 2002. This year marks Japan's eighth World Cup tournament in a row.
Japan squad:
Goalkeepers: Zion Suzuki, Keisuke Osako, Tomoki Hayakawa.
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Shogo Taniguchi, Ko Itakura, Tsuyoshi Watanabe, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Hiroki Ito, Ayumu Seko, Yukinari Sugawara, Junnosuke Suzuki.
Midfielders/forwards: Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Daichi Kamada, Koki Ogawa, Daizen Maeda, Ritsu Doan, Ayase Ueda, Ao Tanaka, Keito Nakamura, Kaishu Sano, Takefusa Kubo, Yuito Suzuki, Kento Shiogai, Keisuke Goto.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Hajime Moriyasu, head coach of Japan's national soccer team, attends a news conference announcing Japan's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Friday, May 15, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Masakuni Yamamoto, left, national team director, Hajime Moriyasu, center, head coach of Japan's national soccer team, and Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, right, president of the Japan Football Association, prepare to attend a news conference announcing Japan's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Friday, May 15, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Hajime Moriyasu, center, head coach of Japan's national soccer team, accompanying Masakuni Yamamoto, left, national team director, and Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, right, president of the Japan Football Association, announces Japan's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup during a news conference Friday, May 15, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Hajime Moriyasu, head coach of Japan's national soccer team, speaks during a news conference announcing Japan's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Friday, May 15, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
