Evacuation Begins for Passengers on Hantavirus-Afflicted Cruise Ship in Canary Islands

An evacuation got underway Sunday for passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, site of a deadly hantavirus outbreak.

Medical teams in hazmat suits helped Spanish passengers, clad in blue plastic ponchos and hair coverings, off the vessel after screening them for the infection. The group traveled by coach to Tenerife airport.

The ship reached the Canary Islands early Sunday with 146 people on board. Three had died from the virus, and eight others fell ill.

No one remaining on the vessel showed symptoms. Passengers and crew stayed confined to cabins in recent days to curb spread. The virus passes only through very close contact.

Each person underwent screening for hantavirus, which brings flu-like symptoms that can lead to respiratory failure and death in some cases.

The 19 British passengers and three crew members headed for flights from Tenerife to Merseyside. They faced hospital quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral.

Passengers from other nations took separate flights home. The Spanish government and World Health Organization assured no contact with Tenerife residents.

Spain's health minister, Mónica García, said Spanish citizens would disembark first. Their plane stood ready for takeoff upon arrival.

A flight to the Netherlands followed for citizens of Germany, Belgium, Greece and some crew.

Later Sunday flights went to the UK, Canada, Turkey, France, Ireland and the US. On Monday, a Dutch refueling plane would collect any remaining passengers, authorities said.

The final flight, to Australia with six people, left Monday afternoon.

Everyone faced a 42-day isolation from potential exposure, which occurred days earlier for most.

The MV Hondius anchored offshore from Grenadilla's southern commercial port. Small boats ferried passengers to the dock in groups of five to 10.

Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo said this would occur only when planes waited on the tarmac.

Some flights remained unarranged as officials worked to position aircraft Sunday. Coastal winds were set to strengthen Monday, possibly stranding anyone without a flight.

Officials stressed the virus, though serious, would not spark another pandemic.

World Health Organization director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus fielded a question at a Saturday night press conference in Tenerife. He addressed concerns that passengers flying worldwide and self-isolating without oversight might spark new outbreaks.

"Based on our assessment, what you have said is not going to happen," he said.

Some crew stayed aboard to collect supplies at Santa Cruz port in northern Tenerife, then return the ship to the Netherlands.

The polar cruise ship arrived after days anchored off Praia, Cape Verde's capital. Local authorities barred docking over fears the outbreak would overwhelm the small nation's health system.

WHO called pandemic fears baseless. Hantaviruses do not spread as fast as Covid-19, and early treatment works well.

The virus has an incubation period of days to eight weeks. Infected people might spread it before symptoms appear.

WHO is coordinating an international response, focusing on tracing those who left the ship over a month ago at the outbreak's start.

Several countries are tackling logistics to trace contacts of 29 people who disembarked April 24 in St. Helena, a remote southern Atlantic island.

Two Britons self-isolate in the UK after possible exposure before leaving about a month ago. Neither shows symptoms.

The Ministry of Defence said a specialist army team and medical personnel parachuted onto Tristan da Cunha with aid and equipment. This followed a British national with a suspected hantavirus case disembarking there.

Experts in multiple countries probe how the rat- and mouse-borne virus reached the MV Hondius and infected so many.

A 70-year-old Dutchman, the first patient, died April 11. His 69-year-old wife fell ill and died April 26 at Johannesburg hospital's emergency department.

A German passenger died aboard May 2 after testing positive.