Health authorities only began contacting the passengers who left the ship on Tuesday. Twenty‑three passengers from the MV Hondius have been on land for more than two weeks. They disembarked on April 21 on the island of Saint Helena, 10 days after the first death on board, and began their journeys home. That is what a Spanish passenger still on the ship told EL PAÍS. “Twenty‑three people got off in Saint Helena. There are 23 people wandering around there, and until three days ago, no one had contacted them,” said the passenger, who asked to remain anonymous.
While most passengers remain on the ship under strict hygiene and isolation measures, 23 returned home and resumed normal life. “The Australian went back to Australia, the one from Taiwan to Taiwan, the Americans to all corners of North America. The Englishman to England, the Dutch to their homes… I don’t remember the rest, but no Spaniards,” the passenger explained by phone.