Spain braces for arrival of cruise ship hit by deadly hantavirus outbreak
Spanish authorities are putting the finishing touches on what they call an “unprecedented operation” as the MV Hondius, a cruise ship stricken by hantavirus, prepares to reach Tenerife this weekend. The Dutch-flagged vessel, carrying 149 passengers and crew, is expected to anchor off the port of Granadilla around midday Sunday—but it won’t dock. Instead, medical teams will board to evaluate everyone onboard, and passengers will have no contact with locals. Fourteen Spanish nationals will be taken to a military hospital in Madrid for quarantine; others will be repatriated directly to their home countries.
Health Minister Mónica García described the effort as a global coordination involving 23 countries, with the World Health Organization handing Spain the lead. “We’re going to do what we have to do,” she told Spanish radio. Non-Spanish passengers showing symptoms but not needing urgent care will be evacuated with medical escorts. García noted that no one required urgent attention when the ship left Cape Verde, and the risk of new infections is dropping daily.
The WHO confirmed five cases and three suspected ones, stressing the virus spreads only through very close contact. Spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said the danger is limited to those infected and “not spreading anything close to how Covid was spreading.” Contact tracing has been effective, he added, noting that even cabinmates of infected people haven’t always caught the virus.
Unease is running high in Tenerife. Regional President Fernando Clavijo argued Spain had no legal duty to accept the ship and that Cape Verde should have handled it. Under the final plan, foreign passengers will move directly from the ship to vehicles waiting for planes. “No one will get off if their plane isn’t already on the runway,” Clavijo said. The local town council of Granadilla de Abona criticized the central government for making unilateral decisions, insisting that any health emergency response must include local input and proper planning.