Operation should end on Monday afternoon, when a flight to Australia is scheduled
The operation taking place in the Canary Islands with the hantavirus outbreak ship has already removed from the boat and repatriated 76 people of various nationalities, the Spanish government said today.
The cruise ship “MV Hondius” arrived this morning in Tenerife, in the Canary archipelago, with 147 people on board, with at least 104 expected to disembark and be repatriated to this island.
Throughout the day, the 14 Spaniards who were on the boat were removed and transported to a military hospital in Madrid, from Tenerife South airport, around 10 kilometers from the port of Grandilla, where the landings are taking place.
Five Frenchmen followed, who flew to Paris; 26 people of different nationalities who were transported to the Netherlands on the same flight; 20 British, one German and one Japanese who left for England on a UK aircraft; two citizens of Ireland and three of Türkiye, who were repatriated to their respective countries on two flights.
A plane also left Tenerife in the afternoon for Canada with four people.
Later today, the 17 Americans who were traveling on the cruise will be disembarked and repatriated by the United States, said the Ministry of Health, in a statement made at around 6pm local time (same time in Lisbon).
The operation should end on Monday afternoon, when a flight to Australia is planned, which will transport people of different nationalities, as well as the departure of a new plane to the Netherlands, considered a “broom plane”, which will take passengers and crew of the cruise ship who, for some reason, did not follow on the previous flights.
The “MV Hondius” is a Dutch-flagged ship and the shipowner is from the Netherlands, which is why it is this country that assumes responsibility for all repatriations being carried out.
Planes chartered by several countries and others in the European Union are being used in repatriations, under the European civil protection mechanism.
This “unprecedented operation, of unprecedented international scope”, in the words of the Spanish Minister of Health, Mónica García, is being coordinated by Spain, the Netherlands, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union.
Passengers and crew, wearing masks and full health protection suits, are being taken in military vehicles from the port of Granadilla to Tenerife South airport and are being left directly on the runway, at the entrance of the planes transporting them.
During Monday morning, the ship will be refueled, also in the port of Granadilla, so that it can continue its journey to the Netherlands as soon as disembarkation is completed.
To take the ship to Rotterdam, at least 30 crew members will not disembark in the Canaries.
The WHO has so far confirmed six cases of eight suspected hantavirus infections in people who traveled on this boat. Three people died and none of the patients or those suspected of being infected are already on board.
The boat was traveling from Argentina, across the South Atlantic, and raised an international health alert last weekend.
Hantavirus is generally transmitted from infected rodents. The variant detected in the package, the Andes hantavirus, is rare and can be transmitted from person to person.
The symptoms of hantavirus infection are initially similar to those of the flu, such as coughing, fatigue or headaches and muscle aches.
Depending on the strain, hantavirus can cause a lung or kidney infection.
