SINGAPORE, May 9 — Two Singapore residents who recently boarded the cruise ship MV Hondius tested negative for hantavirus, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said.

In a statement, it said the National Public Health Laboratory conducted tests on multiple samples collected from the individuals and confirmed that hantavirus, including the Andes virus, was not detected.

“As a precaution, the two individuals will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure, and testing will be conducted again before release from quarantine.

“They will then undergo phone surveillance for the remaining monitoring period of 45 days from the date of last exposure, which is the maximum incubation period for hantavirus exposure,” CDA said yesterday. 

According to the agency, the risk of hantavirus transmission to the general public in Singapore remains low.

“CDA is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to enhance public health measures should new information indicate an increased public health risk to Singapore,” it added.

On Thursday, the CDA said two male individuals – a Singaporean aged 67 and a permanent resident aged 65 – were being isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) for hantavirus testing. — Bernama