Dutch-Flagged MV Hondius Arrives In Tenerife After Hantavirus Outbreak Kills Three

A cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, arrived near the Port of Granadilla in Tenerife in the Canary Islands on Sunday, escorted by a Civil Guard vessel.

“The cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has arrived near the Port of Granadilla in Tenerife in the Canary Islands”

Al Jazeera

The ship had left for Tenerife on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde, after the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Union asked Spain to manage the evacuation of its passengers after the outbreak was detected.

Al Jazeera

The WHO said on Friday that at least eight people on the ship had fallen ill, including three who died—a Dutch couple and a German national—and that six of these people are confirmed to have contracted the virus with another two suspected cases.

In Tenerife, Spanish health authorities planned to test passengers to ensure they remain asymptomatic and then transport them to land in small boats, with sealed-off buses taking them to the island’s main airport about 10 minutes away.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on Saturday evening in Tenerife with Spain’s interior and health ministers and its minister for territorial policy to coordinate the arrival of the ship, and he wrote in an open letter: “This is not another Covid.”

Europe’s public health agency said late on Saturday that all passengers on the luxury cruise ship are being considered high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure, and it advised rapid scientific steps for what should happen next.

Spanish authorities said the evacuation is expected to begin between 7:30am and 8:30am (06:30 and 07:00 GMT), with Spanish nationals set to disembark first with other nationalities to follow in groups.

Devdiscourse

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Saturday that passengers without symptoms will be repatriated for self-quarantine via specially arranged transport, not regular commercial flights, by their respective countries.

The WHO said a KLM flight attendant who came into contact with an infected passenger and later showed mild symptoms tested negative for the hantavirus, and the passenger had briefly been on a plane bound from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25 but was removed before takeoff.

In the city of Granadilla de Abona early on Sunday, life appeared largely normal, and David Parada, a lottery vendor, told the AFP news agency: “There are worries there could be a danger, but honestly, I don’t see people being very concerned.”

WHO epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director Maria Van Kerkhove said that while everybody on board will be classified as “a high-risk contact”, the risk to the general public and the people of the Canaries remained low.

“All passengers on the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak are considered high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure, Europe's public health agency said ahead of the ship's expected anchoring on Sunday off the Spanish island of Tenerife”

The Business Standard

The ECDC urged symptomatic passengers to be prioritised for medical assessment and testing on arrival, adding they may isolate in Tenerife or be medically evacuated home depending on their condition.

The Business Standard and ynetnews both described the ECDC’s approach that passengers will be considered high-risk contacts when they disembark, but not all will necessarily remain classified as high-risk once they return to their home countries.

The ECDC also said passengers without symptoms will be repatriated for self-quarantine using specially arranged transport rather than regular commercial flights, as countries prepare to evacuate citizens from the MV Hondius around 0630-0700 GMT.

The WHO said the outbreak is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person to person, and health authorities have said the risk of the virus spreading is low. “