Tenerife/Madrid, May 9 – Countries are getting ready to evacuate their citizens from a luxury cruise ship that has been affected by a dangerous strain of hantavirus. The ship is expected to anchor near Tenerife earl...
Tenerife/Madrid, May 9 – Countries are getting ready to evacuate their citizens from a luxury cruise ship that has been affected by a dangerous strain of hantavirus. The ship is expected to anchor near Tenerife early on Sunday. Health officials have stated that the risk of the virus spreading is low.
The World Health Organization (WHO) informed member countries with citizens on board about the evacuation process on Saturday, recommending that passengers be monitored for 42 days from their last exposure to the virus.
“I want to be clear: this is not another COVID situation. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a letter published on social media on Saturday.
He felt it was important to address the public's concerns directly.
“Passengers will be taken to shore at the industrial port of Granadilla, away from residential areas, in sealed, secure vehicles through a completely isolated corridor, and sent back directly to their home countries. You will not come into contact with them,” he added.
THREE PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM THE OUTBREAK
The luxury cruise ship MV Hondius set sail for Spain on Wednesday from Cape Verde after the WHO and the European Union requested that the country handle the evacuation of passengers once the hantavirus, which usually starts with flu-like symptoms, was detected.
Generally, the virus is spread by rodents but can sometimes be passed from person to person.
As of Friday, the WHO reported that eight individuals had become ill, including three people who died – a Dutch couple and a German national.
Six of these individuals are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with two more suspected cases, according to the WHO.
The ship is anticipated to anchor near the island between 0300 GMT and 0500 GMT.
Local authorities indicated that the evacuation needs to occur between midday local time on Sunday (1100 GMT) and around the same time on Monday, as weather conditions at sea are expected to worsen for the remainder of the month.
Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands will be sending planes to evacuate their citizens from the cruise ship, as stated by Spain's interior minister in Madrid on Saturday.
The European Union is dispatching two additional planes for the remaining European citizens, Fernando Grande-Marlaska added. The U.S. and the UK have also confirmed plans for aircraft and are arranging contingency plans for non-EU citizens from countries that are unable to provide air transport.
British passengers and crew will be taken to a hospital in northwest England for an initial period of isolation following their repatriation, according to UK health authorities.
Americans will be transported to Nebraska for quarantine and testing, as shared on social media by travel blogger Jake Rosmarin, who is on board the ship.
All passengers, along with 17 crew members, will be evacuated, while 30 crew members will remain on the ship to continue on to the Netherlands, said Spain's Health Minister Monica Garcia. Luggage and the body of a deceased passenger will stay on board, and the ship will be fully disinfected upon arrival.
Spanish citizens will disembark first, and the order of evacuation for the other groups will be decided by health authorities. Citizens will only be allowed to leave once their evacuation flight is ready to leave, Grande-Marlaska noted.