Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius is anchored off the coast of the city of Praia on the island of Santiago, Cape Verde, on May 4. The ship docked in Tenerife, Spain on Sunday to begin evacuating nearly 150 passengers and crew members. Photo by Elton Monteiro/EPA
May 10 (UPI) — A cruise ship stricken with a hantavirus outbreak is evacuating its nearly 150 passengers in the Spanish island Tenerife on Sunday.
The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife Sunday morning to begin evacuating passengers who will be sent to their home countries. A small boat is being used to transport passengers to shore where they are received by a medical tent.
The first group of passengers left Tenerife on Sunday morning by plane. Fourteen Spanish passengers were boarded on a plane bound for Madrid.
Passengers were seen in face masks and full-body personal protective equipment. They have been isolated from the general public during transport off the vessel.
Before being released from the ship, passengers were screened for symptoms and all were asymptomatic.
The next group of passengers to leave the island will be passengers from the Netherlands, Spain’s health minister Monica Garcia said. Some crew members will also be part of that flight.
Passengers from the United States are set to be received at the University of Nebraska Medical Center where they will be monitored. It is a one-of-a-kind medical facility in the United States with specially designed rooms for the purpose of monitoring.
Three cruise ship passengers have died from hantavirus infection, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Chile has reported a fatality rate of 33% in hantavirus cases this year. Last year it confirmed 44 cases and eight deaths.