Spanish authorities initiated on Sunday an organized evacuation of passengers from the cruise ship "MV Hondius", which witnessed an outbreak of the deadly "Hanta" virus, after it docked near the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, amidst strict health and security measures.
This move came after the registration of three deaths on board the ship, belonging to a Dutch couple and a German woman, in addition to other infections with a rare virus believed to have been transmitted through rodents, the "Hanta" virus, for which there is no specific treatment or vaccine to date. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the health authorities confirmed that the risk to public health remains limited, ruling out any comparison with the "COVID-19" pandemic, while medical teams continue to closely monitor all evacuated cases. The operation included the transfer of about 150 people from passengers and crew members, where they were evacuated gradually via small boats towards the port, before being transported in military buses to Tenerife airport, amidst strict isolation and disinfection procedures, and the wearing of medical protective equipment by everyone. The first flights took off towards Madrid and the Netherlands, in addition to other European and American destinations, where passengers underwent strict health protocols, including medical examinations and precautionary isolation in some cases. In the same context, the Spanish Minister of Health emphasized that the evacuation process will continue until the completion of the transfer of all passengers, with the expectation of the ship leaving towards the Netherlands after the end of the procedures, if weather conditions permit. The World Health Organization confirmed its close follow-up of the situation, noting the registration of confirmed cases related to the "Hanta" virus, with the continuation of tracking operations for everyone who left the ship during the previous stages. These developments come in light of an international health alert, which also included humanitarian intervention operations in remote areas, after the registration of other suspected cases of the virus, reflecting the size of global caution regarding the possibility of expanding the scope of the spread of infection.
