Evacuation of Hantavirus-Affected Cruise Ship Passengers Begins in Canary Islands
The first passengers from the MV Hondius, which is anchored off Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, were evacuated Sunday to their home countries for monitoring and quarantine. No one among the more than 140 people on board has shown symptoms of hantavirus. Three people have died and five others are infected since the outbreak began.
manilatimes.netThe first passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-affected cruise ship MV Hondius arrived Sunday afternoon in Madrid after the vessel anchored off Spain's Canary Islands. They were taken to a military hospital. Shortly afterward a French evacuation plane landed in Paris, where passengers were transferred to hospitals by emergency vehicles.
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Spanish nationals were the first to leave the ship, which reached Tenerife early Sunday. A plane carrying Canadian nationals departed Tenerife after the Spanish flight. m. local time. Additional flights were planned Sunday to repatriate passengers to Turkey, the United Kingdom and Ireland, according to the World Health Organization.
None of the more than 140 people aboard the Hondius has shown symptoms of the virus. Officials from Spain’s health ministry, the WHO and the cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions reported this information. The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the risk to the public remains low.
"We have been repeating the same answer many times," he said. "This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low.
“We have been repeating the same answer many times. The risk to the public is low. So they shouldn’t be scared and they shouldn’t panic.”
