Repatriation Flights Proceed Under Strict Health Measures
Spain evacuated 94 passengers of 19 nationalities from a hantavirus-linked cruise ship anchored off the Canary Islands on Sunday, with Health Minister Monica Garcia saying the subsequent repatriation flights concluded ‘with complete normality and safety’
Garcia remarked that there is a passenger bound for France who subsequently showed symptoms, stressing that French health authorities were following protocols to assess the case.
Around 34 people, including passengers and crew, were set to remain on board overnight, with two further repatriation flights to Australia and the Netherlands scheduled for Monday.
The health minister also confirmed two Spanish contacts of a passenger who died in Johannesburg had both tested negative for the virus, with further confirmatory tests required under protocol.
WHO Recommends Extended Quarantine Monitoring
World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recommended 42 days of quarantine with active follow-up for all those evacuated, though he acknowledged that countries were not obligated to follow the guidance. “Countries follow their national guidelines, and based on the risk assessment, they can implement.”
Ghebreyesus then cautioned against alarm, noting symptoms among passengers were not automatically linked to hantavirus. “We’re not headlines. We are human beings. We have lives,” he quoted a passenger.
Cruise Ship Remains Isolated Near Canary Islands
The cruise ship remained under controlled isolation measures offshore after Spanish authorities authorised it to anchor near Granadilla in the Canary Islands under strict health conditions.
Nearly 150 passengers from 23 countries were due to be evacuated in stages for screening and repatriation, with flights expected to continue through Monday.
Authorities said those remaining on board were kept separate from the local population.
The incident began during the vessel’s South America itinerary, with initial exposure believed to have occurred before it departed Ushuaia on April 1. Contact tracing later expanded across multiple countries after passengers disembarked at different ports, including Saint Helena, before the outbreak was confirmed.
The WHO reported eight cases linked to the outbreak, including six confirmed and two probable cases, with three deaths recorded.
