South Africa’s Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has urged the public not to panic following the deaths of two passengers connected to an international cruise ship that passed through the country’s waters.
A 70-year-old man died after falling ill while travelling to St Helena Island, and his 69-year-old wife later collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport, where she also died. The couple were aboard the MV Hondius, which was travelling from Ushuaia in southern Argentina to the Canary Islands via Cape Verde.
A third passenger had already died earlier during the voyage, bringing the total number of suspected hantavirus-related deaths on the ship to three. Several other passengers developed severe respiratory symptoms while the vessel was passing through South African waters. One patient remains admitted at a hospital in Kempton Park. 
The World Health Organization said three people on board are suspected to have died from the disease, though only one case has been confirmed through laboratory testing.
Motsoaledi told Eyewitness News that no outbreak has been declared and that the public should remain calm while investigations continue.
“We don’t want people to start panicking, because nobody has said we’ve got a pandemic or an outbreak. We just at the moment have two people who have died. The second one is still sick awaiting result. We cannot glean that there’s an outbreak of anything yet. So, while we want people to be on the lookout, we don’t want them to panic unnecessarily,” he said.
A British tourist who tested positive for hantavirus aboard the cruise ship is now receiving treatment in South Africa. The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office said it is monitoring the situation and remains in contact with the cruise company and local authorities.
Motsoaledi said he expected a full briefing from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Monday morning.
“As you know, this is an international trip that involves the World Health Organization. In South Africa, the key institution is the NICD. I’m only being briefed this morning about it,” he said.
Hantavirus is typically spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings and, in rare cases, can be transmitted between people, causing severe respiratory illness.
