WHO Chief Moves to Calm Fears in Tenerife as Hantavirus Cruise Ship Nears Canary Islands

BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA

Global health officials and Spanish authorities intensified preparations on Saturday for the arrival of a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, as the head of the World Health Organization sought to reassure anxious residents in Spain’s Canary Islands that the situation did not pose a threat comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dutch-flagged expedition vessel MV Hondius, carrying more than 140 passengers and crew members, was expected to arrive off the coast of Tenerife early Sunday after days of mounting international concern surrounding infections detected on board.

The ship’s approach has triggered a large-scale international response involving Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization, Dutch officials, and several foreign governments working to evacuate citizens while attempting to contain fears of wider transmission.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus traveled to Tenerife alongside Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to oversee preparations for the complicated disembarkation operation.

In a direct public message aimed at residents worried about the arrival of the vessel, Tedros acknowledged lingering trauma from the coronavirus pandemic and attempted to calm growing anxiety on the island.

“I know you are worried,” he said. “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.”

He stressed, however, that the hantavirus outbreak aboard the Hondius was fundamentally different from the global health crisis that devastated much of the world beginning in 2020.

“This is not another COVID,” Tedros said firmly. “The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low.”

Health authorities emphasized that nobody currently aboard the vessel is showing symptoms of the virus, according to statements from the WHO, Spanish officials, and the cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions.

Despite those assurances, concern has continued to spread among residents of Tenerife, where memories of pandemic lockdowns and overwhelmed healthcare systems remain vivid for many.

Some locals openly questioned why the ship was being brought to the Canary Islands at all.

“I don’t like this very much,” said Simon Vidal, a 69-year-old resident. “Why did they have to bring a boat from another country here? Why not somewhere else?”

Others expressed sympathy for passengers stranded aboard the ship while still voicing fears over potential health risks.

Samantha Aguero, a 27-year-old Venezuelan immigrant living on the island, said the situation was unsettling despite official reassurances.

“We don’t feel there are 100% security measures in place,” she said. “This is still a virus, and we all remember what happened during the pandemic. But at the same time, we have to show empathy.”

The outbreak aboard the Hondius has already claimed three lives, while at least five additional passengers who previously left the vessel have tested positive for hantavirus infections.

Hantavirus is a rare but potentially deadly disease typically spread through exposure to rodent droppings, urine, or saliva. Infection often occurs when contaminated particles become airborne and are inhaled. Human-to-human transmission is generally considered extremely uncommon.

However, health experts say the specific strain involved in the cruise ship outbreak — believed to be the Andes virus — has shown limited evidence of person-to-person transmission in rare cases, increasing international concern.

Symptoms can take between one and eight weeks to appear after exposure, complicating efforts by health authorities to identify and isolate potential cases.

Spanish officials announced strict containment measures ahead of the ship’s arrival. Health Minister Monica Garcia said passengers and crew members allowed to leave the vessel would do so under “maximum safety conditions.”

Rather than docking directly at the port, the Hondius will remain anchored offshore while passengers are transported in smaller boats to controlled reception points.

Authorities said individuals would only be permitted to leave the ship once charter flights designated for their evacuation had already arrived in Tenerife. Every person disembarking will undergo health checks before transport.

Passengers have also been instructed to leave most personal belongings behind to minimize contamination risks. They will only be allowed to carry small bags containing essential items such as documents, mobile phones, and chargers.

Some crew members, along with the body of a passenger who died during the voyage, will remain aboard the vessel as it later continues to the Netherlands for full disinfection procedures.

The evacuation process is expected to continue through Sunday and Monday as authorities coordinate flights for citizens from more than 20 countries represented on board.

Both the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to send aircraft to evacuate their nationals. American passengers are expected to be transported to a medical quarantine facility in Nebraska for monitoring upon arrival in the United States.

Spanish nationals aboard the ship will instead be transferred to medical facilities within Spain and placed into quarantine. According to Oceanwide Expeditions, there are 13 Spanish passengers and one Spanish crew member aboard the vessel.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s civil protection mechanism has been activated to keep a specialized medical evacuation aircraft on standby in case anyone develops symptoms during the operation.

Dutch authorities confirmed that the aircraft would be equipped to transport infectious disease patients to mainland Europe if necessary.

As the ship sails closer to Tenerife, health agencies across multiple continents are racing to trace passengers who left the vessel before the outbreak was officially identified.

According to Dutch officials and the cruise company, more than two dozen passengers from at least 12 countries disembarked from the ship on April 24 without undergoing contact tracing because the hantavirus threat had not yet been confirmed.

It was not until May 2 that authorities officially identified hantavirus in one of the passengers.

Public health agencies are now attempting to locate and monitor all individuals who may have had close contact with those passengers after they returned home.

Dutch health authorities are also monitoring passengers from a separate flight briefly boarded by a cruise ship passenger who later died and tested positive for hantavirus.

Harald Wychgel, a spokesperson for the Dutch National Institute for Public Health, said three people from that flight who later developed symptoms have all tested negative for the virus, offering a measure of relief amid growing concern.

The unfolding crisis has placed renewed focus on global preparedness for infectious disease outbreaks and highlighted how memories of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to shape public reactions to health emergencies, even when experts insist the risks are far more limited.

For passengers aboard the Hondius, uncertainty now hangs over what awaits them once they finally step ashore, while officials work to prevent fear from escalating into panic across Tenerife and beyond.