A luxury cruise ship at the centre of a deadly rat-virus outbreak has arrived in the Canary Islands to take stranded passengers home. The MV Hondius reached the port of Granadilla de Abona in Tenerife this morning, but it is not permitted to dock at the shore. A total of 146 people – including 22 Brits – have been trapped on the doomed liner for weeks after three passengers died from confirmed and suspected hantavirus.
All the crew and guests will be tested by Spanish health authorities on board before being led to sealed-off buses on land. They will then take a 10-minute drive to the island’s main airport, where they will board planes heading to their respective countries. The British nationals are all due to be taken to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, which was used as a quarantine site at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Army parachutes into remote Atlantic island
A daring parachute drop has taken place on Saint Helena – Britain’s most remote overseas territory – to get medical support to the British national who is thought to have contracted hantavirus. A specialist army team parachuted onto the island, which has no airstrip, with medical personnel and supplies. It is the first time the UK military has inserted medical personnel to provide humanitarian support via a parachute jump, the Ministry of Defence said.
Brits will be among last to leave doomed ship
Spain’s health minister has announced the running order of nationalities disembarking MV Hondius to be taken home. The order is: Spain, The Netherlands (flight will also take passengers from Germany, Belgium and Greece), Turkey, France, UK, US, Australia.
Spanish health officials test passengers before disembarkation
Health officials have arrived on board the doomed liner to check that all passengers and crew are still asymptomatic. If they are, they will be taken off the boat in groups to be driven to the airport and taken home.
First victim of hantavirus outbreak named
The first passenger to die of hantavirus on MV Hondius has been named as ornithologist Leo Schilperoord. The 70-year-old had boarded the ship with his wife Miriam after they visited a landfill in Argentina, where they are believed to have caught the virus. He was the first person to die, with Miriam dying a few days later trying to board a flight back home to the Netherlands from South Africa. The couple were on a five-month trip in South America, and travelled to the landfill site as it is home to a rare species of Patagonian birds, including the White-bellied Seedsnipe.
Two hospitalised in Spain after hantavirus contact
Two people in Spain are now isolating after coming into contact with hantavirus. One person is being treated in a hospital in Barcelona after coming into contact with the virus on a flight. A second person is suffering with symptoms and is self-isolating in a hospital in Alicante.
European countries send evacuation planes
Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands announced they will evacuate nationals from the cruise ship when it docks. The EU is planning to send two further planes for remaining European nationals, according to Spain’s interior ministry. The UK and US have confirmed planes and contingency plans were being arranged for non-EU citizens whose countries couldn’t send planes, Reuters reports. Fernando Grande-Marlaska from the ministry said passengers will be allowed to disembark once their evacuation plane is ready to leave.
MV Hondius docks early Sunday morning
The Spanish government has said hantavirus-hit MV Hondius will dock in Tenerife between 4am and 6am. Spanish citizens will disembark from the vessel first. Some of the crew will remain on board and travel to the Netherlands with the body of a person who died on May 2.
More plane passengers test negative for virus
A Danish passenger who flew on the same flight as someone who contracted hantavirus has tested negative. They flew from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on a plane on which an infected person also travelled, the SSI authority said last night. A flight attendant also tested negative for the virus.
US evacuating 17 citizens from hantavirus cruise ship
The US has shared its plan for medically repatriating 17 people on board MV Hondius. Once the ship arrives in the Canary Islands, a US government medical flight will take passengers to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. They will then be transported to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska. Donald Trump said the virus “seems to be okay”, adding “it is not easy to pass on”. He added: “We hope that’s true.”
Number of confirmed hantavirus cases rises to six
The number of confirmed cases of hantavirus has risen from five to six, the World Health Organisation has said. Eight people in total have fallen ill, including three who have died. There are now six confirmed cases with two suspected cases. Four patients remain in hospital.
