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The cruise ship grappling with a hantavirus outbreak is expected to dock in Tenerife, part of Spain's Canary Islands, in the coming days, according to a report by public broadcaster RTVE on Wednesday, which cited sources from the Ministry of Health.
The Spanish Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday evening that the MV Hondius was en route to the Canary Islands, with an anticipated arrival in «three to four days». However, the exact port of entry remains undecided following the evacuation of three suspected cases in Cape Verde.
The ministry further clarified that it had «accepted an official request from the Dutch government» to facilitate the transfer of the ship's doctor, whose condition is deemed serious, to the Canaries via a medical aircraft.
Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands regional government, voiced his disapproval on Wednesday regarding any patient evacuations to the archipelago, criticizing the «complete lack of information» from the central government in Madrid.
«At this stage, there is no medical or epidemiological data to suggest that the ship», currently anchored off the coast of Praia, «cannot receive the necessary intervention on site», he stated during an interview with Onda Cero radio.
According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been seven reported cases of hantavirus, a virus that can lead to acute respiratory syndrome, onboard. This includes two laboratory-confirmed cases and five suspected cases.
The outbreak on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship has resulted in three fatalities, involving a Dutch couple in their seventies and a German passenger.
