'This is not another Covid': WHO chief assures Tenerife locals ahead of Hantavirus-hit MV Hondius arrival

In his address to the residents of
Tenerife, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO),
Tedros Ghebreyesus, reassured them that the arrival of the Hantavirus cruise ship would not create a Covid-19 pandemic-like situation. In his speech, Ghebreyesus repeatedly stressed that “this is not another Covid” and that there were no symptomatic passengers currently aboard the
MV Hondius.

It is pertinent to note that MV Hondius, the cruise ship that has been struggling with the
Hantavirus outbreak for a while, is due to arrive at the port of Granadilla in the early hours of Sunday. The arrival of the vessel has sparked concern among locals as Passengers are due to start disembarking, raising fears of the spread of the deadly virus.

As of now, six cases have been confirmed among the ship’s passengers, including one of the three who died while the Dutch vessel was sailing from South America. Spanish officials have sought to allay concerns about the ship’s arrival. They have maintained that containment precautions are being undertaken before the ship’s arrival.

It is pertinent to note that Hantaviruses are usually carried by rodents. However, human transmission of the Andes strain – which the WHO believes was contracted by some of the ship’s passengers while in South America – is possible. Symptoms of the deadly virus include fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and shortness of breath.

‘I know you are worried’

While speaking to the residents of Tenerife on Sunday, the WHO chief acknowledged the worry of the people. “I know that when you hear the word ‘outbreak’ and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us has fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment,” he said.

“But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another Covid. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low.” He added that there was currently a WHO expert, Dr Freddy Banza-Mutoka, aboard the MV Hondius.

Along with him are two Dutch physicians, who are conducting medical and exposure assessments of everyone on the vessel. The WHO currently maintains that no more passengers are showing the symptoms of Hantavirus.

Dr Ghebreyesus arrived in Tenerife on Sunday to observe the forthcoming operation. According to the BBC, the ship is expected to drop anchor in the Canary Islands sometime between 04:00 and 06:00 GMT (local time) on Sunday.

The Spanish Health Minister
Mónica García noted that the passengers of the vessels will be held on the boat and be able to leave on smaller boats when there is a repatriation flight waiting for them on the tarmac. Meanwhile, Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions later gave an estimated arrival time of 04:30 GMT and said that once disembarked, those on board “will be transferred immediately to their allocated aircraft”.

Flights are then planned to take them back to the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Belgium and Ireland. The EU is sending a further two planes for the remaining European citizens. Notably, the MV Hondius’s arrival comes against the wishes of the region’s president, Fernando Clavijo, who questioned why the final phase of the response to the outbreak could not have taken place in Cape Verde, its previous stopping point.

In his Sunday address, the WHO chief thanked Spanish Prime Minister
Pedro Sanchez, calling the decision to receive the ship “an act of solidarity and moral duty”. “Tenerife has been chosen because it has the medical capacity, the infrastructure and the humanity to help them reach safety,” he said.

With inputs from agencies.