WHO Chief Reassures Tenerife Residents Before Hantavirus Cruise Ship Arrival

The World Health Organization director-general sought to reassure Tenerife residents that their infection risk remains low before a cruise ship with a hantavirus outbreak arrives at the island.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that "this is not another Covid" and that no symptomatic passengers are currently aboard the MV Hondius. He delivered the message to people on the Canary Island.

The MV Hondius is scheduled to reach Granadilla port in the early hours of Sunday morning, prompting concern among locals.

Health officials have confirmed six cases among the ship's passengers. One of three passengers who died was aboard the Dutch vessel while it sailed from South America.

Spanish officials detailed containment measures to ease worries about the ship's arrival.

Hantaviruses typically spread from rodents. The Andes strain, which the WHO believes some passengers contracted in South America, can pass between humans.

Symptoms include fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea and shortness of breath.

"I know you are worried," Ghebreyesus told Tenerife residents on Sunday. "I know that when you hear the word 'outbreak' and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another Covid. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low."

A WHO expert, Dr. Freddy Banza-Mutoka, is aboard the MV Hondius with two Dutch physicians. They are conducting medical and exposure assessments of everyone on board. No additional passengers are showing hantavirus symptoms, the WHO said.

Ghebreyesus traveled to Tenerife to observe the operation firsthand, the agency said.

The ship will anchor in the Canary Islands between 04:00 and 06:00 GMT on Sunday, Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said Saturday.

Passengers will stay on board and disembark only via smaller boats when repatriation flights are ready, she said at a news conference.

Flights will return them to the UK, the US, France, Germany, Belgium and Ireland. The EU is providing two more planes for remaining European citizens.

Regional President Fernando Clavijo opposed the ship's arrival and questioned why the final response phase could not occur in Cape Verde, its last stop.

The decision has sparked local protests and criticism from the far-right Vox party against the central government.

Ghebreyesus thanked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and called receiving the ship "an act of solidarity and moral duty."

"Tenerife has been chosen because it has the medical capacity, the infrastructure and the humanity to help them reach safety," he said.

Authorities outlined steps to prevent passenger contact with locals. All passengers will wear FFP2 masks when disembarking, as will bus drivers and logistical staff, García said.

Passengers will leave by nationality, with Spaniards first. Each may take only a small sealed bag with documents, mobile phone, charger, basic necessities and personal items.

The body of one deceased passenger will stay on board during the Canary Islands stop. The MV Hondius will proceed to the Netherlands, where the body and belongings will be disinfected before removal.

The first death occurred on April 11 and the second on May 2. A 69-year-old Dutch woman who left the ship in St. Helena on April 24 died in South Africa two days later.