Home / Health / Hantavirus Scare: Cruise Ship Held Off Tenerife
Hantavirus Scare: Cruise Ship Held Off Tenerife
10 May
Summary
- British passengers to be quarantined at Merseyside hospital.
- WHO reassures that hantavirus risk remains low for Tenerife.
- Ship to anchor offshore for passenger screening in Tenerife.
Nineteen British passengers and three crew members aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which experienced a hantavirus outbreak resulting in three fatalities, are being rerouted to Tenerife. They are scheduled for hospital quarantine in Merseyside upon arrival. The ship is currently heading to the Canary Islands after being denied docking in Cape Verde due to health concerns.
In Tenerife, all 146 passengers will undergo screening on Sunday morning before being transferred to their home countries. The World Health Organization's Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, issued a statement on Saturday assuring that while hantavirus is serious, the public health risk remains low. He emphasized that the situation is not comparable to COVID-19.
The vessel will anchor off the coast of Tenerife for screening. Passengers are advised to isolate for 42 days. UK passengers displaying no symptoms will be escorted by government staff and provided free passage back to the UK, where they will enter isolation at Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral as a precautionary measure.
