hantavirus outbreak. The Australian government is completing plans to bring home five Australians and one New Zealander who were passengers on the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, where a hantavirus outbreak has resulted in three deaths and left another passenger in critical condition. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the group is in good health and positive spirits after arriving in the Netherlands for medical assessments and hotel quarantine. They are expected to be flown to Perth later this week and transferred directly to the Bullsbrook quarantine facility, where they will remain in isolation for at least three weeks as a precautionary measure. Western Australia Health Minister Meredith Hammat said the state's tertiary hospitals are fully prepared to manage any potential infections, although officials consider the likelihood of illness among the returning passengers to be low.