Hantavirus-Stricken Cruise Ship Arrives in Canary Islands

The MV Hondius cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, arrived at Tenerife with over 140 people on board, including passengers and crew from more than 20 different nationalities. According to the World Health Organization and Spanish authorities, nobody on board is currently showing symptoms of hantavirus, but three people have died and five passengers who left the ship are infected.

The ship will remain at anchor, with people ferried off in small boats, and everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms before being taken off the ship once evacuation flights are ready.

The World Health Organization's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with Spain's health and interior ministers, will supervise the evacuation, which aims to complete by Sunday and Monday.

Authorities have said that passengers and crew members who disembark will have no contact with the local population, and those disembarking will leave behind their luggage, taking only essential items.

The US and UK have agreed to send planes to evacuate their citizens, with Americans to be quarantined at a medical center in Nebraska, and all Spanish passengers to be transferred to a medical facility and quarantined. The court will not be involved in this case, but the ship will sail on to the Netherlands for disinfection after the evacuation is complete.