The cruise ship on which an outbreak of hantavirus appeared arrived early this morning near the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, according to Reuters visuals and a French News Agency reporter at the spot where it will dock to disembark passengers and some crew members.
These passengers, none of whom have shown any symptoms of infection, will be examined by Spanish health authorities to make an initial assessment of their condition and then taken ashore in small boats, according to Spanish officials.
Special buses will take them to the Spanish island’s main airport, about 10 minutes away, where they will board planes bound for their home countries.
All passengers on the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius are considered high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure.
Their evacuation is expected to begin around 09:30 (GMT), according to Spanish authorities.
The Spanish nationals will be the first to disembark, with other nationalities following in groups, government officials said yesterday. Thirty crew members will remain on board and sail to the Netherlands, where the ship will be decontaminated.
The ship departed for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the World Health Organization and the European Union asked the country to manage the evacuation of passengers after an outbreak of hantavirus was detected.
WHO Director-General Tedros Andanom Gebrejesus arrived in Tenerife, Canary Islands, last night with the Spanish Ministers of Interior, Health and Territorial Policy to coordinate the arrival of the ship.
The WHO said on Friday that eight people had become ill, including three who died – a Dutch couple and a German woman. Six of them have been confirmed infected with the virus, two others are suspected cases, according to the WHO.
Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents, but can in rare cases be transmitted from human to human. The WHO has stated that the risk to the general population is low, but moderate for passengers and crew on board the ship.
