Seventeen Americans and one British resident arrived in the United States early Monday after being evacuated from the cruise ship struck by a hantavirus outbreak.

Officials confirmed that one passenger tested positive for the Andes strain of the virus while another began showing symptoms during the repatriation flight.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, both individuals traveled inside biocontainment units as a precaution. The University of Nebraska Medical Center said the person who tested positive had no symptoms when the flight landed in Omaha.

The charter plane touched down at Eppley Airfield before a convoy transported the group to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The hospital confirmed that those repatriated would each receive their own rooms during the quarantine period.

Here's What They're Not Telling You About Your Retirement

The evacuation of American citizens came as French authorities reported that one of their citizens on a separate repatriation flight had tested positive and was in deteriorating condition. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the affected passengers were placed in strict isolation.

At least nine confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus have been tied to the ship, the MV Hondius, which has seen three fatalities—a Dutch couple and a German woman. The virus strain involved, Andes virus, is rare and can pass from person to person. Typically, hantaviruses spread through exposure to infected rodents.

The ship carried nearly 150 passengers from over 15 countries when it sailed from Cape Verde toward Spain’s Canary Islands. Authorities organized disembarkation by nationality as the vessel docked Sunday.

This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year

Spanish passengers were flown to Madrid, while French, British, and other nationals boarded separate flights home.

Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship’s operator, said passengers and some crew evacuated via small launch boats before boarding government-chartered flights. Spanish officials maintained that there was no contact between evacuees and the local population, citing strict containment protocols.

The World Health Organization director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, oversaw the Tenerife evacuation alongside Spain’s health and interior ministers. Video released by Spain’s defense ministry showed interiors wrapped in plastic and flight crews in protective suits.

Health authorities emphasized that risk to the general public remains low. Evacuation personnel wore protective gear including hazmat suits and respirators throughout the operation.

The Hondius is expected to sail to Rotterdam for disinfection after a five-day journey, carrying only a minimal crew and the remains of a passenger who died on board.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a team of epidemiologists traveled to the Canary Islands to assess exposure risks for each American passenger. After the U.S. flight departed, officials confirmed that the group was being monitored under federal health protocols.

CDC acting director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said seven other Americans who had already returned from the cruise earlier were asymptomatic and under observation in several states.

Meanwhile, countries have implemented separate isolation procedures for their citizens, with the U.K. and Spain placing passengers in hospital quarantine.

French authorities announced additional contact-tracing and isolation measures to protect the public. WHO reiterated that only the Andes strain of hantavirus is known to spread between people but assessed the current outbreak’s risk as low.

Dr. Tedros told CBS News that Americans “shouldn’t worry” about the repatriation flights, distinguishing the situation from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is not another COVID, and the risk to the public is low,” he said.

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb added on Face the Nation that American passengers are likely nearing the end of the virus’s incubation window. Investigators are still determining how the virus reached the vessel.

WHO reported that the Dutch couple who died had spent weeks traveling through South America in regions known to harbor the rodent species carrying the Andes virus. The man became ill in early April and died aboard the ship before hantavirus was suspected.

His wife developed severe illness after leaving the ship and died later in South Africa. A German passenger also died aboard the Hondius in early May, health officials said.

Several others have been treated in hospitals across Europe and Africa after showing symptoms.

The Hondius began its voyage April 1 from Ushuaia, Argentina, traveling along remote South Atlantic islands before heading toward Cape Verde and the Canary Islands.

The outbreak was identified only after multiple passengers exhibited similar respiratory symptoms.

While investigations continue, WHO and national health agencies have maintained that containment and monitoring procedures are functioning as planned.

For now, the public risk remains limited as the last passengers begin their quarantine in Omaha.