The hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius was due to dock in Rotterdam on Monday morning for disinfection, with Dutch authorities preparing quarantine arrangements for the 25 crew members and two medical staff remaining on board.
Local authorities said quarantine facilities had been set up for some of the non-Dutch crew, though it was not clear yet if they would stay there for the full recommended 42-day quarantine period.
"There is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on May 12.
However, the virus has an incubation period of several weeks, meaning more cases from the ship's occupants could emerge in the future, Tedros warned.
On Friday, the WHO revised its case count to 10 from 11 after an inconclusive US case tested negative. As of May 15, there were 10 WHO reported cases – eight confirmed and two probable – including the three deaths.
Another patient in Canada has provisionally tested positive but is not exhibiting symptoms and the test remains to be confirmed.
The vessel, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, had been stranded off Cape Verde, its intended final destination, earlier this month after authorities barred passengers from going ashore due to the outbreak. The WHO and the EU asked Spain to manage the evacuation at the Canary Islands, after which the ship departed for Rotterdam with a skeleton crew and two additional medical staff.
Crew, passengers who already left the ship and people in contact with them have been quarantined in several countries around the world.
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