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<\/p>\nTwo women on the hantavirus cruise ship are now quarantining at a HSE-run facility<\/p>\n
Two Irish citizens were stranded on the cruise ship(Image: AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
An Irishwoman facing 42 days in quarantine<\/a> after being aboard the hantavirus cruise is \u201cdelighted\u201d to be home, her friend has said.<\/p>\n Ann Lane, from Cork<\/a>, and her travelling companion, from Dublin<\/a>, were the only Irish people on the ship that has caused worldwide fear of another pandemic. The two women are currently isolating at a HSE-run facility<\/a> after being flown from Tenerife <\/a>to Baldonnell Airport, Dublin, last night on the government jet.<\/p>\n They were aboard the MV Hondius which saw an outbreak of hantavirus resulting in three deaths. Independent Senator Aubrey McCarthy, a friend of 80-year-old Ms Lane, who worked as a personal assistant to former president Mary Robinson<\/a> and Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik<\/a>, said she is \u201call good and absolutely delighted to be back\u201d.<\/p>\n He told RT\u00c9 Radio 1\u2019s Today with David McCullagh<\/a>: \u201cIt was a huge relief to Ann and all her friends to see that she made it safely back. We are quick to criticise the Irish when they get it wrong but this was second to none. They executed a perfect mission and it got them safely back to Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr McCarthy said the two women are \u201cvery positive\u201d and that Ms Lane is a \u201cvery strong lady\u201d. He continued: \u201cIt must have been psychologically exhausting sitting on a ship not knowing what\u2019s going to happen.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re hearing the medical updates, the texts from home about the uncertainty on the virus and I\u2019m sure that takes a toll on anybody and I know the emotional sides have a huge toll but being back on home soil, even though you have to quarantine, you are physically safe and at least you are home.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked how his friend will cope with being in quarantine for 42 days, the senator said: \u201cShe will absolutely play by the rules. This is her sixth expedition and her fourth time to Antarctica, it\u2019s important now that she gets proper medical guidance.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important that she also gets privacy during that time. Imagine you are going away on a trip you don\u2019t realise how valuable home is until you can\u2019t get there.\u201d Some 149 passengers and crew had been stranded on the cruise ship since the deadly hantavirus<\/a> was detected on it as it sailed from South America across the Atlantic Ocean on April 11.<\/p>\n Five people are confirmed to have contracted the rat-borne disease on board – and three of them have died – in what has now become a major public health emergency.<\/p>\n