Ruhi Cenet, a prominent YouTuber known for his travel vlogs, has shared his dismay over his attendance at a crowded wedding despite having been on the MV Hondius cruise during a hantavirus outbreak. Cenet was on the ship for 24 days, departing on April 12, just a day after the captain informed passengers about the first fatality due to the virus.
With over 18 million subscribers, Cenet recounted his experience aboard the ill-fated cruise, where he left in the company of the deceased passenger’s wife. Tragically, she too succumbed to the virus shortly after their departure. Despite the looming health threat, Cenet resumed his everyday life and was photographed at a wedding in Istanbul on May 3. This was coincidentally the same day the World Health Organization officially began addressing the hantavirus situation on the ship, nearly three weeks after he left.
In his conversation with NBC News, Cenet expressed his frustration over the lack of information provided to those onboard. He mentioned that the ship’s crew was so convinced that the initial death was due to natural causes that they failed to implement any safety protocols. “We were not well informed,” Cenet lamented. “Knowing that we didn’t get isolated and didn’t take any caution for a solid 12 days is, for my part, a very sad situation,” he added, reflecting on the potential risks faced by himself and others.
Cenet continued life as usual, and was pictured attending a wedding in his native Istanbul on May 3 — the same day that the World Health Organization finally announced it was responding to a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship, three weeks after he disembarked.
“We were not well informed,” Cenet told NBC News, saying that staff on the ship were so convinced the initial death was natural causes that no safety steps were taken.
“Knowing that we didn’t get isolated and we didn’t take any caution for a solid 12 days, for my part, is a very sad situation,” he said.
“I wish everyone was more mindful,” he said,
Cenet attended the wedding a day after South African officials announced they received a positive for hantavirus following the third known death of the cruise outbreak.
The disease has a 40% mortality rate and an incubation period of up to eight weeks.
Cenet told NBC News that he took a blood test when he returned to Turkey and has shown no symptoms, which he attributes to isolating himself in his room.
While the ship heads for port in Spain, the World Health Organization has informed several countries about passengers who had disembarked from the vessel, including several acorss the US.
Others are spread across the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, tCanada, Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore and New Zealand.
None of the remaining passengers or crew on the ship are currently symptomatic, the Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions cruise ship company said Thursday.
The risk to the wider public is low, the WHO said. The virus, which typically spreads by the inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings, appears to be spreading by contact between people, which health authorities insist is both rare and unlikely to be widespread.
“We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity is shown across all countries,” said Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud, the WHO’s alert and response director on Thursday.
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