The MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged ship, left the southern Argentinian port of Ushuaia, the starting point for the majority of Antarctic cruises, on April 1 to return to Europe. It had passengers and crew members from over 20 countries. The passengers included an elderly Dutch couple, who had traveled in Chile and Argentina before boarding. The man, 70 years old, was the first to die: He died on the ship on April 11. He’d complained initially of a fever, headache, and diarrhoea, which soon morphed into acute respiratory distress. His body was taken off the ship at St. Helena, almost two weeks later, to be repatriated. He was accompanied by his wife. She fell ill shortly after leaving the ship, collapsing at an airport in Johannesburg, and died shortly after in a local health facility. Meanwhile, on the ship, a British national had similar difficulties in breathing as the Dutchman. He was evacuated to an ICU in South Africa. On May 2, a German woman died on board the ship: She had been unwell for only five days.…