The World Health Organization is trying to reassure the island's residents: this is not a new COVID!
The saga of the 'plague' ship continues! The cruise liner, where a deadly hantavirus outbreak occurred, arrived on the Spanish island of Tenerife on Sunday morning, Deutsche Welle reports. In the port of Puerto de Granadilla, medical staff will check everyone on board for symptoms. If no cases are detected, passengers will be disembarked in small groups of no more than five people at a time. According to Spain's Minister of Health, Monica Garcia, everyone is required to wear FFP2 masks and bring only carry-on luggage.
After disembarkation, people will be transported by buses to the airport, from where they will fly home on special flights without the standard check-in procedure. Evacuation flights are scheduled for Sunday and Monday. Upon arrival home, passengers will face quarantine, as the incubation period for the virus can last several weeks.
As reported today by CGTN, passengers of the cruise liner MV Hondius, where the hantavirus outbreak occurred, will be evacuated on 10 flights, said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. According to him, this could involve about six flights for EU states and around four for others. Notably, as stated by Spain's Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands will send planes to evacuate their citizens, with two more expected from the EU, while the USA and the UK have expressed readiness to provide aircraft for citizens of other countries. Tourists will be examined and sent home for quarantine. Meanwhile, the WHO believes the risk of virus spread is low.
After the evacuation is completed, the ship will head to the Netherlands for complete disinfection. The body of the deceased German citizen will remain on board for now.
There are passengers and crew from 23 countries on board. Three people died during the outbreak. The WHO reports that currently, no one remaining on the ship shows symptoms of the disease. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Spain's Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska have also arrived on the island to personally oversee the operation. The WHO chief emphasized that the risk to Tenerife residents remains low and the situation is not comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic. "This is not a new COVID," he stated on Saturday while addressing local residents. Protests took place on the island ahead of the ship's arrival.
Orthohantaviruses can cause hemorrhagic fever (with bleeding), affecting all major organs and systems, leading to kidney failure and death.
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