Canary Islands Reject Docking Plan for Hantavirus Cruise Ship MV Hondius

Three patients suspected of hantavirus infection were evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship and are heading to the Netherlands for treatment, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The patients are British, German and Dutch nationals. The British patient works as a crew member, according to the WHO.

The rare virus outbreak has killed three people.

The leader of the Canary Islands rejected a plan Wednesday for the ship to dock there, in the latest complication for the roughly 150 passengers aboard. Spanish government and WHO officials had coordinated for the ship to proceed to the Canary Islands for a full investigation and inspection after the evacuations.

Fernando Clavijo, head of the archipelago's regional government and a member of the conservative opposition, turned down the proposal. He said he requested a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

In a social media post Wednesday, Clavijo wrote: "The Canary Islands always acts with responsibility, but it cannot accept decisions taken behind the backs of the Canary Islands institutions and without sufficient information to the population."

A flight to evacuate a sick doctor from the ship to the Canary Islands was canceled, a source close to the regional presidency told AFP on Wednesday.

South African authorities confirmed Wednesday they identified the Andes strain of hantavirus in two former passengers. That strain, mainly found in Argentina and Chile, spreads from human to human, unlike most hantavirus types.

Swiss authorities said Wednesday a man who sailed on the ship and returned home at the end of April tested positive for the Andes strain.

"There is currently no risk to the Swiss public," they said in a statement.

The WHO puts the total confirmed cases at eight.

Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship's operator, said two infectious disease specialists were traveling Wednesday from the Netherlands to the vessel. They will stay aboard after it leaves Cape Verde.

The Dutch-flagged luxury liner MV Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1. It has been anchored off Cape Verde, an island off Africa's west coast, since Sunday.

Ann Lindstrand, WHO representative in Cape Verde, told CBS News' Ramy Inocencio on Tuesday there is no pandemic risk from hantavirus due to low human-to-human transmission odds.

Spanish and Dutch authorities are discussing next steps for the passengers, she said. Crew members instructed passengers to stay in cabins as much as possible.

"If there is the need for a quarantine, that will be a decision of the health authorities in Spain or Holland at that point in time, with the close collaboration with the advice of WHO," Lindstrand said.

A quarantine, if required, could last up to two months given the virus's one- to eight-week incubation period, she noted.

"Eight weeks is a horribly long time to be in quarantine," she added.

Lindstrand said a volunteer doctor on board reported passengers were coping surprisingly well, though anxious about their next destination.