Most crew members aboard MV Hondius to undergo quarantine in Rotterdam upon arrival

The Dutch government announced on Friday that the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius is expected to arrive at the Port of Rotterdam next Monday, with most crew members set to undergo a six-week quarantine in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Rotterdam has been designated in the Netherlands as the port for the handling of infectious diseases in shipping, according to a letter sent to parliament on Friday and signed by Sophie Hermans, Dutch minister of health, welfare and sport, and Tom Berendsen, the country's foreign minister.

According to Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch operator of the vessel, there are currently 27 people on board, including 25 crew members and two medical personnel. The group consists of 17 Filipinos, four Dutch nationals, four Ukrainians, one Russian, and one Polish national.

The ministers said that some crew members would enter home quarantine upon arrival, while those unable to return immediately to their home countries would be housed in designated quarantine facilities.

Regarding the vessel's 17 Filipino crew members, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) recommended that they remain in the Netherlands for the entire six-week quarantine period.

The letter said that the RIVM's recommendation followed careful consultations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and is in line with WHO guidance.

The vessel will also undergo cleaning by a specialized external company in accordance with RIVM guidelines, which incorporate WHO recommendations and are being implemented in close cooperation with the Rotterdam municipal health service.

Personal protective measures are being taken to ensure that the cleaners do not need to quarantine after the cleaning, the letter said. 　 According to the WHO, the cruise ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina, for Cape Verde on April 1. During the voyage, it experienced an outbreak of the Andes virus, a strain of the Hantavirus family.

Most crew members aboard MV Hondius to undergo quarantine in Rotterdam upon arrival

Most crew members aboard MV Hondius to undergo quarantine in Rotterdam upon arrival

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic on Friday in Beijing. The two sides exchanged views on bilateral economic and trade relations.

He, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China always attaches high importance to growing its economic and trade ties with the European Union (EU) and stands ready to work with the European side to fully implement the important consensus reached by leaders of the two sides.

He called on the two sides to give full play to the role of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism, uphold the new positioning of China and the EU as each other's stable and balanced key trading partners, maintain ongoing dialogue, properly handle differences, and advance the sound and steady development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

Sefcovic stated that China is an important economic and trade partner of the EU. The EU is ready to continue advancing the trade and investment consultation, step up communication and jointly promote cooperation, he added.

Chinese vice premier meets European commissioner for trade, economic security