In brief
- Spanish authorities are preparing to evacuate passengers aboard a luxury cruise ship that had a deadly hantavirus outbreak.
- Several countries have sent planes to repatriate their citizens, with passengers to be under quarantine measures.
Countries have prepared to evacuate their citizens from a luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly strain of hantavirus that is due to anchor near the Canary Islands, as health authorities said the risk of the virus spreading was low.
The World Health Organization (WHO) briefed member states with nationals on board on Saturday on how to manage the process, advising active monitoring of passengers for 42 days from the last point of exposure.
"I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another Covid. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a letter to the public published on X earlier.
He said he wanted to take the unusual step of sharing a statement to address people's concerns.
"Passengers will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries. You will not encounter them," he added.
The luxury cruise ship MV Hondius left for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde off the west coast of Africa after the WHO and European Union asked the country to manage the evacuation of passengers onboard after the hantavirus, which typically begins with flu-like symptoms, was detected.
Usually, the virus is spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person.
The WHO on Friday said that eight people had fallen ill, including three who died — a Dutch couple and a German national.
Six of these people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another two suspected cases, the WHO has said.
The ship is expected to anchor near the island early Sunday morning, local time.
Local authorities have said the evacuation must take place between midday Sunday midday and around the same time Monday before conditions at sea are expected to become stormier for the rest of the month.
Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands will send planes to evacuate their citizens aboard the Tenerife-bound cruise ship, Spain's interior minister said in Madrid on Saturday.
The European Union is sending two further planes for the remaining European citizens, Fernando Grande-Marlaska added. The US and UK have confirmed planes and contingency plans were being arranged for non-EU citizens whose countries were unable to send air transport, he said.
British passengers and staff on the cruise ship will be taken to a hospital in northwest England for an initial isolation period once they are repatriated, UK health authorities said on Saturday.
US nationals will be sent to Nebraska for quarantine and testing, travel blogger Jake Rosmarin, who is on board the ship, posted on social media.
All passengers, as well as 17 crew members, will be evacuated, but 30 crew will stay on board and travel on to the Netherlands, Spain's health minister Monica Garcia said.
Luggage and the body of a deceased passenger on the ship will remain on board and the ship will be fully disinfected on arrival, she added.
Spanish citizens will disembark first, with the order of evacuation of the remaining groups of citizens to be determined by health authorities. Citizens will not be able to disembark until their evacuation plane is ready to depart, Grande-Marlaska said.
For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.
