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US and French nationals test positive for hantavirus after leaving ship
An American and a French national who have returned to their home countries having left a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of hantavirus have tested positive, authorities say.
In total seven cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius have been confirmed, with two other cases suspected, the World Health Organization [WHO] said on Monday.
The US health department said a second American national on the repatriation flight had also shown mild symptoms, adding that both passengers had travelled back in “biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution”.
French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said a woman was isolating in Paris and her health was deteriorating, with 22 contacts traced.
Three passengers have died after travelling on the ship, two of whom were confirmed to have had the virus.
The WHO said the person who is believed to have been the first to be infected in the outbreak died before he could be tested.
Two other British nationals with confirmed cases are currently being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa.
Hantaviruses are usually carried by rodents, but human transmission of the Andes strain – which the World Health Organization (WHO) believes was contracted by some of the Dutch ship’s passengers while in South America – is possible.
Symptoms can include fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and shortness of breath.
Officials say the risk of a major outbreak is very low.
More than 90 passengers of the MV Hondius ship, currently docked in Spain’s Canary Islands, are being repatriated.
In its latest update from Tenerife on Monday, Spanish officials said 54 passengers and crew were still on board the ship. Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said six of those were passengers: four Australians, one Briton and one New Zealander.
Some 22 people would disembark the ship to fly to the Netherlands on Monday, she said – including the Australians who had been expected to be flown home directly but whose plane could not be guaranteed to arrive on time.
The MV Hondius was then expected to leave for the Netherlands later on Monday, she said.
In its statement early on Monday, the US Department of Health and Human Services said all 17 US citizens on Sunday’s flight would undergo “clinical assessment” at a medical facility in Nebraska. A British national living in the US was also repatriated alongside them.
Seven other US passengers had already returned home and were being monitored in their home states.
Before the American case was confirmed, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the decision by the US not to follow his organisation’s guidelines over the hantavirus outbreak “may have risks”.
The WHO has recommended 42 days of isolation for those leaving the MV Hondius.
But Dr Jay Bhattacharya, the acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said he did not want to cause public panic, insisting that human-to-human transmission was rare and it should not be treated like the Covid virus.
Cruise ship passengers were pictured wearing blue gowns, bouffant caps, and medical face masks as they disembarked on Sunday at the port of Grandilla de Abona in Tenerife.
On Sunday, a plane carrying 20 British nationals arrived in the UK.
The passengers flew into Manchester Airport on a chartered flight from Tenerife and were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, to isolate for 72 hours. None of them have reported symptoms.
In Spain, 14 Spaniards flown to Madrid now face mandatory quarantine at a military hospital. Another two evacuation flights are scheduled for Monday afternoon.
A separate flight with 26 passengers and crew – including eight Dutch nationals – arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday.
Earlier on Monday, Ukraine said four of its citizens would remain on board the MV Hondius as part of the crew to ensure the ship’s transfer to the Netherlands. Upon arrival, the foreign ministry said, they would be expected to quarantine at a medical facility.
Another Ukrainian national was expected to leave the ship as part of the partial crew evacuation on a flight to the Netherlands.
At present, no signs of illness have been recorded among the Ukrainians, the ministry added.
In a video message released on Monday by Oceanwide Expeditions, which operates the MV Hondius, the captain said the crew’s thoughts were “with the ones that are now longer with us”.
Jan Dobrogowski also said that “the past few weeks have been extremely challenging to us all”, while praising the patience, discipline and kindness shown on board the vessel.
During her update, the Spanish health minister also said that one of the police officers involved in the ongoing repatriation operation had died of cardiac arrest.
An elderly Dutch man was the first passenger who died on board the MV Hondius on 11 April. He had earlier developed symptoms – but is considered a probable case as no tests have been carried out.
His wife – a 69-year-old woman – left the ship on the island of St Helena on 24 April and flew to South Africa. She died two days later in a clinic in Johannesburg.
A German woman died on board the cruise ship on 2 May.
The two women are both confirmed cases.
The MV Hondius departed Argentina’s southern city of Ushuaia on 1 April, and is currently docked at the port of Grandilla, southern Tenerife.
[BBC]
It has been reported that six persons, have died while several others are injured after a vehicle crashed into a crowd of people near a Vesak Dansala in the Meegoda Junction.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi has won the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Orange Cap (most runs), and Emerging Player awards in IPL 2026 after amassing 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30.
Gujarat Titans (GT) quick Kagiso Rabada won the Purple Cap for topping the wickets chart. He took 29 wickets from 17 games at an economy rate of 9.68. This was the second time he won the Purple Cap, having done so previously in IPL 2020 when he took 30 wickets for Delhi Capitals. Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Bhuveneshwar Kumar was a close second with 28 wickets.
Sooryavanshi, 15, is the first player to win both the MVP and Emerging Player awards in the same season. He was the first since Chris Gayle in 2011 to top both the runs and strike rate charts (min. 20 balls faced) in the same season. Sooryavanshi hit 72 sixes in IPL 2026, breaking Gayle’s record of most sixes (59) in an IPL season, and played a key role in RR making it to the playoffs. They eventually lost to GT in Qualifier 2 in New Chandigarh.
“It feels nice, but there is pressure because I am doing interviews. It is a proud moment and I will try and do well next season too,” Sooryanvashi said after collecting his awards at the end of the final. “I try to back my game and if the ball is there to be hit, I go all out for it and just try to play that way.
“How to play the pressure game, how to change myself every game, you can’t play every game in one mode, you need to read the game situation and play according to the team’s requirements. These are my learnings from this season. [On fitness] Yes, my focus is on that. If I have to play long, I have to stay clear of injuries and work on my fitness and have to focus more.”
GT captain Shubman Gill was second on the Orange Cap list with 732 runs. He was followed by his team-mate and opening partner B Sai Sudharsan, who finished with 722.
At the Cricinfo Honours awards on the eve of the IPL final, Sachin Tendulkar had said Sooriyavanshi was “truly special”.
“Everyone is talking about Sooryavanshi, and I watched him bat – it was magnificent. I mean he is something truly special. And not just the ability to hit the ball, but what also fascinated me was the wrist work that he has. To be able to play in all directions of the ground, you need good wrist work. And he is not slogging the ball. He is just picking the line and length earlier than the rest of the guys and he is able to clear the rope comfortably.”
[Cricinfo]
It took them 18 years to win their first title, but Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) took no time in becoming only the third team to successfully defend it. Their seam bowlers made superb use of a slightly sticky surface after Rajat Patidar won the toss, restricting Gujarat Titans (GT), who were in their third final in five years of their existence, to 155, the exact same score RCB managed in the league match against the seam team in the same ground on the same pitch No. 6 bang in the middle of the square.
Josh Hazelwood who has never lost a T20 or ODI final, set the tone with the wicket of Shubman Gill in his first over. Bhuveneshwar Kumar momentarily reclaimed the purple cap with two wickets, and Rasikh Salam capped off his best IPL with three to take his tally for the year to 19. Last final’s Player of the match, Krunal Pandya, who won his fifth IPL final out of five, also chipped in with the big wicket of Jos Buttler in his analysis of 4-0-23-1. He is now behind only Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu in number of titles, and is also the first player to successfully defend a title with two different teams.
Only three out of 26 scores under 190 in a full match had been defended successfully this IPL. With the ball still nibbling around, the best attack in the tournament would have thought they had a chance, but amid falling wickets, Virat Kohli chose this final to hit his fastest IPL fifty and his highest playoff score, leading a five-wicket win with two overs to spare.
Get the openers
Gill and B Sai Sudharsan came into the final as the only pair of batters from the same team to have scored 700 or more runs in the same IPL. However, they were up against bowlers that have troubled them in the past. A cagey start ensued, Gill survived the Bhuvneshwar over, but Hazlewood had him top-edging his signature short-arm pull.
GT promoted Nishant Sindhu to No. 3 to protect Buttler from Bhuvneshwar, but the wily bowler made sure Buttler had to come out as he took out Sudharsan in his second over. He first beat Sudharsan on the charge with a bouncer before continuing with another, this one taking the toe end on the ramp. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, in attendance in Ahmedabad, was now assured of the orange cap. This was only the fourth time this IPL that both the GT owners had been dismissed inside the powerplay, three of them against RCB.
Middle-overs choke
Seeing some grip from the pitch and conventional, subdued batters at the wicket, Krunal shelved all his fancy change-ups and bowled only length. His first three overs yielded zero boundaries. Salam was equally miserly at the other end, just bowling good length and enjoying the slight variations from the surface. One of those had Sindhu caught at long-on.
When Krunal started his final over, they had gone 37 legal deliveries without a boundary. Krunal expected the frustrated Buttler to try something, saw him coming and fired in a wide yorker for a spectacular stumping by Jitesh Sharma.
Another promotion followed with Arshad Khan walking in and hitting the fourth ball of the 13th over for a six, only one ball quicker than the longest it has taken a team to hit a six in an IPL final.
No let-up from RCB
Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar and Salam offered no freebies in the death overs. Every time GT thought they could build some momentum, one of the quicks jolted them with a wicket. Hazlewood got Arshad, Bhuvneshwar made it 28 wickets for the season with Jason Holder’s scalp, and Salam took out Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan in the end. Only Jacob Duffy went wicketless, but he, too, nearly had Washington Sundar, who went on from the reprieve to score a fighting 37-ball 50.
The high-octane chase
Like he did in the 2024 final with a 50 at two runs a ball, Venkatesh Iyer got the middling chase to a flying start. Not that he needed extra licence, but an injury to the inside of the knee in the first over of the chase left him no option but to hit out. He hit out against Rabada in his first over, and by the time Mohammed Siraj got him out for 32 off 16, he had set RCB on their way.
While Venkatesh might have added reason to hit out, Kohli lashed out at Rabada with ferocity that was only foretold by a season in which he has matched some of the younger, more cutting-edge T20 batters. Of the six batters to have scored 600 or more this IPL, only Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan have done so quicker than his 675 at 165.84.
As is often expected of Kohli, he was pumped up when he took on his great rival Rabada, hitting a spectacular six and three fours in Rabada’s second. Rattled bowlers lost their line against Kohli, whose first run on the off side was his 39th. By that time, Rabada had taken back his purple cap with Devdutt Padikkal’s wicket and Rashid Khan would soon take two in his first over, but the asking rate was already under a run a ball.
Only an injury to Kohli slowed down RCB’s march to the title, but Kohli finished it off in style with a four and a six off the last two balls of the 18th over.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 161 for 5 in 18 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 32, Virat Kohli 75*, Rajat Patidar 15, Tim David 24, Jitesh Sharma 11*; Mohammed Siraj 1-36, Kagiso Rabada 1-44, Rashid Khan 2-25, Arshad Khan 1-32) beat Gujarat Titans 155 for 8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 12, Shubman Gill 10, Nishant Sindhu 20, Jos Buttler 19, Washington Sundar 50*, Arshad Khan 15; Rasikh Salam 3-27, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-29, Josh Hazelwood 2-37, Krunal Pandya 1-23) by five wickets
[Cricinfo]
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