With concern about Hantavirus growing, a YouTube creator who had been travelling on the MV Hondius — the vessel linked to the outbreak — has confirmed he attended a crowded wedding soon after leaving the ship.
Ruhi Çenet faced significant online criticism after images appeared showing him at the May 3 wedding, according to Türkiye Today.
The date is notable because it was also when the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was looking into a potential outbreak connected to the cruise.
Responding in an Instagram statement on Friday, Çenet said: “On the date I attended the wedding, the Hantavirus epidemic was not announced by the World Health Organization,”
He stated that he has since gone into quarantine as a precaution, and has not experienced symptoms.
Çenet, 35, began the voyage on April 1, boarding in Ushuaia, Argentina.
He said the trip started normally, but that changed on April 11 when the ship’s captain announced that a 70-year-old Dutch passenger had died, with the death initially described as being due to “natural causes.”
Çenet claimed the captain addressed passengers again the next day and offered reassurance, allegedly saying: “Whatever health issues he was struggling with, I’m told by the doctor, were not infectious, so the ship is safe when it comes to that.”
In footage provided to NBC News, the announcement continued: “The ship is safe. This gentleman, unfortunately, succumbed to natural causes. And like I say, we do what we can in order to continue in a safe and dignified way.”
Çenet said passengers weren’t given enough information, telling the outlet: “It’s very scary because it was nothing that we were ready for.”
For the rest of the voyage, Çenet said he and his cameraman chose to isolate themselves. He also alleged the ship continued operating largely as normal for 12 days, with passengers still mixing at meals and no mask or distancing requirements.
The body of the passenger who died was taken off the ship on April 24 — the same day Çenet disembarked at St. Helena.
Speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP), he said: “I wish we did not land there after the first casualty, because along with us, there were a hundred more passengers, and they were interacting with the islanders,” Çenet told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “This is one of my regrets, because the island is the most remote one, and they don’t have enough medical centres, enough doctors.”
Two days later, the man’s wife — a 69-year-old Dutch woman — flew to South Africa. She later died on April 26 after also becoming ill.
Çenet was on the same flight, according to the report.
As of Friday, May 8, eight cases were being treated as suspected, including three deaths. WHO said six cases have been’”laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus infections, with all identified as Andes virus (ANDV),’