Reuters
The cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak is due to arrive in Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, on Sunday, dropping anchor offshore rather than docking at port.
Passengers will be taken from the MV Hondius to the port of Granadilla by smaller boats, as requested by the island’s local authorities, and then moved to the island’s main airport.
Spain’s civil protection and emergencies chief Virginia Barcones said the passengers would be transferred straight to the airport’s runway by sealed-off buses, with drivers and emergency crews wearing protective gear.
Evacuees will then board charter planes sent by their respective countries, although the Spanish government is still waiting to confirm which countries will be sending planes.
Currently, only the United States and the United Kingdom have said they would send charters, Barcones said.
Countries who could not arrange evacuation flights may be able to use planes from other countries, she said, but coordination would ultimately depend on the European Commission and the ship’s flag country, the Netherlands.
While it is expected that everyone evacuated will quickly be flown out of Tenerife, a special isolation unit at a local hospital is being prepared as a contingency measure.
More cases suspected
Eight people are now confirmed to have contracted hantavirus aboard the ship, with more cases suspected.
Three people have died since the outbreak.
One of the deceased passengers is still onboard, with the Netherlands to handle the evacuation of the body from Tenerife back to Germany.
When the outbreak was first reported on May 2, there were 147 passengers and crew on board the MV Hondius, while 34 others had already left the ship.
Andes, the hantavirus strain, is the only type known to be capable of transmission between humans through close and prolonged contact. What is hantavirus?
What is hantavirus, the virus spreading aboard a luxury cruise ship?
While World Health Organization director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged the outbreak was a “serious incident”, WHO has assessed the public health risk as low.
But, given the six-week incubation period, “it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” he said.
