Spain’s Health Ministry has confirmed that the MV Hondius, the cruiser on which three people have died from a hantavirus outbreak, will dock at Tenerife in the next few days.
The Ministry announced the decision yesterday, after the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended that the Canaries were the nearest port with the required capacity. The destination port was confirmed as Santa Cruz de Tenerife this morning.
The Spanish Government’s decision contradicts earlier remarks by Canarian President Fernando Clavijo, who had said the docking of the cruiser MV Hondius in a Canarian port was “absolutely out of the question”.
Clavijo had insisted that the Hondius return directly to its home port in the Netherlands. However, the Spanish Government cited the psychological state of the 149 passengers and crew members who remain in isolation on board the Hondius, as well as “international law and humanitarian spirit”
The Spanish Health Ministry and the WHO have both highlighted that the risk to the general public from hantavirus is “very low”.
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