The cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak has arrived on the Spanish island of Tenerife, where 147 passengers are expected to disembark in a carefully managed repatriation operation involving multiple countries.
The MV Hondius docked at the port of Granadilla in the Canary Islands, and the passengers will be evacuated to their home countries after being tested to ensure they have no symptoms, officials said.
Since the ship left Argentina last month, three deaths have been linked to hantavirus, a rare disease usually caused by exposure to the urine or feces of infected rodents, and others have been evacuated from the ship for treatment.
Local officials said the ship would be anchored at the “safest” distance from the pier, and travel company Oceanwide Expeditions said passengers would be brought ashore in small boats with a maximum capacity of 10 people per nationality.
Several countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands, have sent aircraft to evacuate their nationals on board the ship. “The order of disembarkation will be adjusted to the arrival of the repatriation flight,” Oceanwide said, adding that passengers’ luggage will be left on board and returned later.
Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the 17 American passengers, all asymptomatic, were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, a federally funded facility that is home to the National Quarantine Unit.
Passengers will be briefly tested at the unit and then monitored at home for the next 42 days, with monitoring expected to occur at least daily, the official said.
Spain’s Health Minister Monica García announced on Saturday that 14 Spanish passengers will be the first to disembark, and will wear FFP2 masks along with others working on bus transportation and logistics.
They will be taken to a military hospital, where they will be kept in a private room with no visitors allowed, and undergo PCR tests on arrival and seven days later, Spain’s Health Ministry said.
The ship’s arrival has caused tension in Spain’s autonomous region of the Canary Islands, whose leader Fernando Clavijo said earlier this week that he opposed the ship’s berthing.
Port workers in Tenerife have also been protesting, expressing concern about a lack of communication about potential risks.
The ship and crew will head to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where the crew will disembark and the ship will be disinfected.
The hantavirus outbreak was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2, and the WHO said the risk to the general public remains low.
CNN’s Adam Canklin, Brenda Goodman, Jennifer Hansler, Deirdre McPhillips and Christian Edwards contributed to this report.
