Hantavirus cruise ship evacuation begins from Tenerife to Madrid for quarantine

A flight carrying the first passengers from the MV Hondius left Spain’s Canary Islands for Madrid on Sunday. Spanish nationals boarded first, after the ship anchored off Tenerife. Spanish health authorities said the group would be taken to a military hospital. The evacuees on that plane will enter quarantine after landing in Madrid.

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Officials said nobody among the more than 140 people on the MV Hondius showed symptoms. Spain’s health ministry, the World Health Organization and Oceanwide Expeditions gave the same update. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus repeated on Sunday that the risk stayed low for the public. Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said the evacuation was proceeding normally.

Hantavirus evacuation plans for MV Hondius passengers

Passengers and some crew from more than 20 nationalities will leave from Sunday into Monday. Authorities said checks would happen before each departure. Officials also said evacuees would avoid contact with local residents. People will leave the ship only when flights are ready. Staff at Granadilla port used masks, hazmat suits and respirators.

Only 14 Spanish nationals will quarantine inside Spain, authorities said. Other countries planned separate arrangements for their citizens. Tedros and Spain’s health and interior ministers supervised the operation in Tenerife. Pope Leo XIV on Sunday thanked the Canary Islands for allowing the Hondius to arrive. The ship had reached the islands only hours earlier.

Hantavirus repatriation flights and quarantine steps

The US, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands said they would send planes. Americans will quarantine at a medical centre in Nebraska. The Dutch Foreign Ministry said 29 people will use a Dutch charter flight. That group includes Dutch nationals and others. British authorities said UK passengers and crew will be hospitalised for observation after arriving home.

France’s Foreign Ministry said five French passengers will be repatriated Sunday. France said they will be hospitalised for 72 hours for monitoring. After that, they will quarantine at home for 45 days. García said Australia is sending a plane arriving on Monday. Australia’s aircraft will evacuate Australians and nearby nationals, including New Zealanders.

Norway sent an ambulance plane to Tenerife with trained personnel, NRK reported. Norway’s Directorate for Civil Protection said the team can transport high-risk infection patients. The aircraft is owned by the European Union but operated by Norway. García said Australia’s flight would be the last to leave Tenerife.

Hantavirus risk details and known cases linked to MV Hondius

Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale residue from rodent droppings. It does not spread easily between people, officials said. However, the Andes virus found in this outbreak may spread between people rarely. Symptoms often appear one to eight weeks after exposure. Officials said three people have died and five former passengers are infected.

Evacuees will leave most luggage behind during disembarkation, authorities said. People may take a small bag with essentials, plus a phone, a charger and documents. Some crew will stay onboard, along with the body of a passenger who died. Spanish authorities said the ship will sail to Rotterdam, Netherlands, for disinfection.

Oceanwide Expeditions said the trip from Tenerife to Rotterdam should take around five days. Spanish officials said the Hondius would depart after the evacuation steps finish. Health teams continued monitoring during the process. Authorities also said protective gear remained standard at the port. Officials aimed to manage movements without exposing island residents.

Hantavirus monitoring in other locations after MV Hondius travel

British Army medics parachuted onto Tristan da Cunha after a suspected hantavirus case. UK officials said the patient was a passenger from the MV Hondius and left last month. The UK defence ministry said six paratroopers and two medical clinicians jumped Saturday. A Royal Air Force transport plane also dropped oxygen and medical supplies.

Tristan da Cunha has 221 residents and no airstrip, officials said. It is about 1,500 miles, or 2,400 kilometres, from St. Helena. Travel is usually by boat from Cape Town and takes six days. In Spain, health authorities said Saturday that a suspected case in Alicante tested negative. The person had been on the same flight as a Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg.

With inputs from PTI