The cruise ship struck by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has arrived in Tenerife, where it will anchor for the evacuation of the passengers and some of the crew.
Footage taken by Reuters shows the MV Hondius at anchor near the Port of Granadilla in the Spanish territory on Sunday. The vessel has not been permitted to dock.
The passengers, including four Australian citizens, have not displayed signs of infection. They'll be tested by Spanish health workers to ensure they remain asymptomatic and then taken to land in small boats, according to local officials.
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However, they will be under strict protocols, including only being able to take limited belongings with them when they disembark the ship.
Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms and won't be taken off the ship until a flight is already in Tenerife waiting for them.
After setting foot on the ground, the passengers will be taken in sealed-off buses the Spanish island's main airport about 10 minutes away, where they will board planes heading to their respective countries.
Europe's public health agency said late on Saturday all passengers are considered high-risk contacts as a precautionary measure.
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Earlier, Spain's Health Minister Monica Garcia during a news conference in Madrid, where she and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus looked to reassure the local community on the Canary Islands that there would be no outbreak on land.
"I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word 'outbreak' and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment," Tedros said in a statement to the people of Tenerife.
"But I need you to hear me clearly: This is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now."
Garcia said passengers and some crew would disembark in Tenerife "under maximum safety conditions".
There are more than 140 people from more than 20 different countries on board, including four Australian citizens and one permanent resident.
Three people have died.
Authorities are aiming to complete the evacuation flights on Sunday and Monday, the director of the WHO's Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, Maria Van Kerkove, said in a briefing.
Those disembarking will leave behind their luggage, Garcia said, and will be allowed to take only a small bag with essential items, a mobile phone, charger and documentation.
Some crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail on to the Netherlands, where it will undergo disinfection, the minister said.
Operation could be delayed as residents express concern
The operation to let passengers leave the stricken ship could be delayed, with Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo claiming some of the repatriation flights that were to take passengers back to their home countries had not arrived on time.
In an impromptu press conference held this morning, he claimed he was looking to cancel the operation due to the health risks it would pose to his community.
He is not the only one who is concerned.
Some on Tenerife say they are worried, on board the cruise ship, some Spanish passengers have voiced concern about being stigmatised.
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"I tell you, I don't like this very much," 69-year-old resident Simon Vidal said.
"Anyone can say what they want. Why did they have to bring a boat from another country here? Why not anywhere else, why bring it to the Canary Islands?"
Others said they empathised with the boat's passengers, but were still concerned.
"The truth is that it is very worrying," 27-year-old Venezuelan immigrant Samantha Aguero said.
"We feel a bit unsafe, we don't feel as there are 100 per cent security measures in place to welcome it.
"This is a virus after all and we have lived this during the pandemic. But we also need to have empathy."
Reported with Associated Press.
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