The cruise ship MV Hondius has reached Tenerife in the Canary Islands, almost a month after a passenger died from the rare Andean strain of hantavirus.
The ship arrived near the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, before dawn. To prevent possible spread, a one nautical mile security perimeter will be maintained and the ship will anchor at sea rather than mooring directly at the pier.
Spanish military police and disaster response teams have restricted access to the waterfront and set up large reception tents.
The operation is described by Health Minister Monica Garcia as “unprecedented” in scale and complexity. As soon as the ship is positioned on Sunday morning, medical teams will go on board to screen all passengers.
Currently, reports indicate that no other individuals are showing symptoms of the virus. 23 countries are involved in the operation; mainly Britain, the US and several EU member states are sending planes – including medically equipped ones – to fly their citizens home.
Spanish nationals will be the first to disembark, while other nationalities will follow in groups. Government officials arrived Saturday to coordinate efforts.
In the meantime, thirty crew members remain on board and sail to the Netherlands, where the ship is disinfected. The ship left for Spain from the coast of Cape Verde on Wednesday.
The mission is managed by Spain at the specific request of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Tenerife on Saturday evening to coordinate with the Spanish Ministers of the Interior, Health and Territorial Policy.
The WHO confirmed that eight people have fallen ill. So far there have been three deaths: a Dutch couple and a German. Of the eight people affected, six cases have been confirmed to be hantavirus, while two more are suspected.
Although Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents to humans, this particular outbreak involves a strain that can be transmitted from human to human.
The WHO classifies the risk to the global population as low, but states that the risk to passengers and crew currently on the ship is moderate.
