©picture alliance / Anadolu | Andres Gutierrez
All passengers and crew were able to leave the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius in the port of Granadilla in Tenerife in a controlled manner and after a health check. The ship was en route from Argentina to Cape Verde when several people on board fell ill.
The cruise ship was diagnosed with an outbreak of acute respiratory syndrome in the Atlantic Ocean, possibly due to hantavirus. Three passengers have since died, including a Dutch couple and a Briton. Several confirmed hantavirus infections have since been reported, including several deaths, and the virus is being investigated as a rare Andean variant with a relatively high mortality rate.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed Tenerife residents directly in a message.
"I know you are concerned. I know that when you hear the word "outbreak" and see a ship sailing to your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully processed. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I am not downplaying it for a moment."
"But I want you to hear this very clearly: this is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I say it again to you now."
"The virus aboard the MV Hondius is the Andean strain of hantavirus. It is serious. Three people have lost their lives, and our thoughts are with their families. The risk to you, who live your daily lives in Tenerife, is low. This is the assessment of the WHO, and we do not take it lightly."
A plane carrying eight Dutch nationals and passengers from 10 other countries flew to Eindhoven on Sunday. The Dutch must spend six weeks in home quarantine.
©picture alliance / Anadolu | Andres Gutierrez