Hantavirus ship arrives in Tenerife this morning: How passengers will be disembarked, consider all high-risk contacts
All passengers on the cruise ship affected by the hantavirus outbreak are considered high-risk contacts as a precaution, the European public health agency said before the ship arrived in the Spanish island of Tenerife on Sunday, according to Reuters and AFP.
Asymptomatic passengers will be repatriated for self-isolation by specially organized transport, not regular commercial flights, by the respective countries, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Saturday as part of its rapid response scientific advice.
Several countries are preparing to evacuate their nationals from the MV Hondius on Sunday morning in an operation expected to begin at 06:30 – 07:00 GMT (09:30 – 10:00 in Romania).
Eight people fell ill, three of whom died – a Dutch couple and a German national – the World Health Organization said on Friday. Six of the eight people have been confirmed to be infected with the virus, and two others are suspected cases, according to the WHO.
While passengers will be considered high-risk upon disembarkation, not all will necessarily be considered high-risk upon return to their home countries, ECDC said.
The agency urged that passengers with symptoms be prioritized for medical assessment and testing on arrival, adding that they may be isolated in Tenerife or medically evacuated home, depending on their condition.
How passengers will be disembarked
“Spain is prepared and ready for action,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference on his arrival Saturday night at the industrial port of Granadilla de Abona, where he is to oversee operations.
They will be subject to surveillance for 42 days, Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the department of prevention and preparedness for epidemics and pandemics of the WHO, said on Saturday.
The central government in Madrid reiterated that the device put in place for their evacuation guarantees that there will be “no contact” throughout the process with the local population.
More precisely, after a medical examination on board, “passengers will disembark in a staggered and orderly manner”, without luggage, the “first” 14 Spaniards, “wearing (all) FFP2 masks”, explained Mónica García Gómez.
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, mentioned, for his part, an operation that is wanted to be “quick”.
He specified that the security team that will assist in the evacuation from the cruise ship MV Hondius will consist of 358 people: 325 officers of the Civil Guard and 33 officers of the National Police, who “will carry out security operations in collaboration with the Ministry of Health”.
The virus is usually spread by rodents, but in rare cases it can be passed from person to person. Health authorities have said the risk of the virus spreading is low.
