Hantavirus live updates: 2 infected patients in isolation in Dutch hospitals, officials say

Virginia's Department of Health said Thursday that a traveler from their state who was on the MV Hondius returned home in "good health" and is being monitored by public health authorities.

"Our understanding is that fewer than 30 U.S. Citizens were on board the ship. A small number (<5) of other potentially exposed Virginians might be identified in the days ahead," the department said.

"The Virginia Department of Health is monitoring this situation closely and has been in active communication with our federal partners at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)," the statement said, adding "generally speaking, we believe the risk to the general public to be low.

Virginia's statement brings the total number of U.S. residents currently under monitoring for hantavirus symptoms to at least seven people across five states, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia. 

-ABC News' Chris Barry and Youri Benadjaoud

Virigina Barcones, Spain's head of Emergencies and Civil Protection, provided more details Thursday about its plans for the MV Hondius when it arrives at the Canary Islands Sunday.

"They will arrive at a completely isolated, cordoned-off area. They will board vehicles that are isolated and under guard, and will proceed to a section of the airport that will be completely cordoned off. They will board the aircraft and depart. I am saying this so that the people of the Canary Islands, the men and women living there, can rest assured that there will be absolutely no possibility of contact at any time," she said in a statement.

Barcones added that no one will be allowed to leave the boat unless they are going directly to the airport to return to their home countries.

"The United States has showed its willingness to send a plane to collect its citizens directly. Negotiations with the United Kingdom are also at an advanced stage. During meetings held throughout the day, the U.K. has also expressed its willingness to send a dedicated flight to repatriate its nationals," she said.

-ABC News' William Gretsky

Two patients infected with the hantavirus are currently hospitalized in hospitals in the Netherlands in a special units with isolation protocols, Dutch health officials said Thursday.

One patient is at Radboud University Medical Center, in the city of Nijmegen, while the other is at Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, officials said.

Health officials said the patients are not putting any other visitor or patient at risk.

Three additional people in the Netherlands have been tested for the virus, including a 69-year-old flight attendant. All three were in direct contact with the victim who died in South Africa, health officials said.

The flight attendant is currently admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam awaiting her test results, according to officials.

-ABC News' Aicha Elhammar

The MV Hondius left on its voyage April 1 from Ushuaia, Argentina.

On April 6, a 70-year-old Dutch passenger fell ill with fever, headache and diarrhea, according to the WHO. That passenger died on April 11.

The ship was between the British island territories of South Georgia and St. Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic, according to data from the ship tracking website MarineTraffic.

The ship sailed on for nearly two weeks, stopping near the island of Tristan da Cunha before reaching St. Helena, where the Dutch man's body was removed on April 24.

A total 29 passengers from 12 countries disembarked while the ship was in Saint Helena.

The Dutch victim's 69-year-old widow also disembarked and flew to South Africa, where she collapsed at an airport there. Two days later, she died from the disease, according to officials.

Another passenger aboard the ship, a German national, died on May 2nd, a day before the ship arrived in Cape Verde.

The next day, the WHO announced it was investigating a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius.

The ship is currently en route to the Canary Islands.