Four Canadians on Flight to Quebec After Hantavirus Scare
Four Canadians who were among the passengers aboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius are on a plane en route to Canada Sunday. The flight is bound for the Saguenay-Bagotville Airport near Quebec City, with passengers wearing protective gear including face masks, hazmat suits, and respirators.
None of the approximately 140 people on board the MV Hondius were exhibiting symptoms of the virus, according to the ship's owner Oceanwide Expeditions, Spain's health ministry, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Evacuation Underway in Canary Islands
The passengers began disembarking from the MV Hondius after it was anchored at the port of Granadilla in the Canary Islands, Spain, just after 6 a.m. local time. Spanish nationals were the first to depart, boarding a small boat that took them to shore, where they were transferred to buses heading to a military hospital in Madrid, Spain's health ministry said.
Those disembarking and personnel working at Granadilla were seen wearing protective gear during the evacuation process. The operation involving passengers and crew from more than 20 nationalities is expected to last until Monday.
WHO Reassures Public: 'This Isn't Another COVID'
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X Sunday: 'WHO experts on the ground are working with the Spanish Health Ministry on the epidemiological assessment of the passengers and coordinating charter flights with the Interior Ministry.' Later, at a media briefing, he sought to reassure the public, stating, 'This isn't another COVID; and the risk to the public is low, so they shouldn't be scared and they shouldn't panic.'
Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia added, 'The entire operation is proceeding normally.'
Ship to Sail to Netherlands
Three passengers have died after the Hondius was hit with the rodent-borne disease during its voyage from Argentina to Antarctica sometime after April 1, following several stops at isolated islands in the South Atlantic. Two bodies of the deceased passengers, and five others who were infected with the virus, had already left the ship before it docked in Tenerife. Some crew, as well as the remaining passenger's body, will stay on the ship, which will sail on to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where it will undergo disinfection, Spanish authorities said.
— with files from The Canadian Press and Associated Press
