The cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak arrived this Sunday morning (10) at the Port of Granadilla, in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, where it will be anchored for the removal of passengers and part of the crew.
The passengers, none of whom showed signs of infection, will be tested by Spanish health authorities to ensure they remain asymptomatic and then transported ashore in small vessels, according to Spanish authorities.
Then, isolated buses will take passengers to the Spanish island’s main airport, about 10 minutes away, where they will board planes bound for their respective countries.
All passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship are considered as a precautionary measure, the European public health agency said late Saturday (9), as part of its rapid scientific opinion.
The evacuation should begin between 3:30 am and 4:30 am, Brasília time.
Spanish citizens will be the first to disembark, followed by people of other nationalities in groups, government authorities said on Saturday. Thirty crew members will remain on board and head to the Netherlands, where the ship will be disinfected.
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 coordinate the evacuation of passengers following the detection of the .
The director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, arrived on Saturday night in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, accompanied by the Spanish Ministers of Interior and Health and the Minister of Territorial Policy, to coordinate the arrival of the ship.
The WHO reported on Friday (8) that, including three who died – a Dutch couple and a German citizen. Six of these people had confirmed virus infection, and two other cases are suspected, according to the WHO.
Hantavirus usually spreads through rodents, but in rare cases it can be transmitted from person to person. The WHO said the risk to the general global population is low, but the risk to the ship’s passengers and crew is moderate.
