WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, arrived on the island of Tenerife on Saturday to help calm locals ahead of the vessel’s arrival, and to help coordinate the disembarkation efforts.

Tedros issued a direct statement to assure the people of Tenerife that, despite lingering fears left over from the 2020 pandemic, “this is not another Covid”, and the public health risk of contracting hantavirus is still very low.

Hantavirus can cause severe illness and is generally contracted by inhaling contaminated rodent residue, making transmission between people difficult. Yet, the specific Andes virus detected in this outbreak may be able to spread from person to person in rare cases.

The Dutch-flagged cruise ship that has spent last week exiled at sea, stricken down by an outbreak of the deadly hantavirus outbreak, has now officially docked in Spain, more than a week after authorities were first alerted to the medical emergency on board,

The MV Hondius, which has more than 140 passengers and crew on board, was directed to the Canary Islands by European health authorities and the World Health Organisation (WHO) after being refused port in Cape Verde.

So far, The outbreak has caused three deaths, and five passengers who had previously left the vessel have since been found to be infected with hantavirus. However, WHO, Spanish authorities, and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions have all confirmed that no one currently on board the Hondius is displaying any symptoms of the virus.

Symptoms typically manifest one to eight weeks after exposure.

Regarding next steps, Dutch foreign and health ministers informed parliament that Spain has activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism.

This action ensures a medical evacuation plane, prepared for infectious diseases, is available to transport any newly ill individual on the ship to the European mainland.

The letter also stated that the Dutch government will collaborate with Spanish authorities and the ship company to organise the repatriation of Dutch passengers and crew from Tenerife as quickly as medical conditions and advice from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control allow.

Those without symptoms will be required to enter a six-week home quarantine under the supervision of local health services.