"We don't know what we're dealing with": Canary Islands reject hantavirus cruise ship

By Rafael Salido Published on 06/05/2026 - 10:42 GMT+2•Updated 10:46 Share Comments Share Facebook Twitter Flipboard Send Reddit Linkedin Messenger Telegram VK Bluesky Threads Whatsapp

The Canary Islands reject the Spanish government's decision to transfer a cruise ship with a hantavirus outbreak to their territory, as health authorities coordinate a medical evacuation from Cabo Verde. South African authorities have detected the Andean variant, which is contagious between humans.

The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, rejected on Wednesday the Spanish government's decision to bring the cruise ship MV Hondius to the archipelago.

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The vessel, affected by a hantavirus outbreak on board, is currently anchored off Praia, the capital of Cabo Verde.

"It is an improvisation by the Spanish government," Clavijo said in an interview on Spanish radio, in which he assured that there is insufficient information on the extent of the outbreak. "We have no medical report on how many patients are infected," he said.

However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that 147 passengers and crew are on board the ship and that, for the moment, seven cases linked to the outbreak have been identified: two laboratory-confirmed and five suspected cases.

The toll includes three deaths, one patient in critical condition, and three people with mild symptoms. South African authorities have detected the Andean variant in several of those infected, a variant that is transmitted between humans.

The secretary general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has stated that based on current information, the international organisation "assesses the risk to the general population is low".

Clavijo also questioned the Spanish government's decision, taken in coordination with the WHO and the European Union, to bring the ship to the Canary Islands.

"It is the Spanish government that decides to take it to the Canary Islands (...) Why can't they be treated in Praia," said the regional president.

The WHO appealed to compliance with international law and the "humanitarian spirit" in asking Spain to take in the ship, and stressed that Cabo Verde does not have the necessary capacity to manage an operation of this magnitude. According to Pedro Sánchez's government, the transfer responds to humanitarian criteria.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed that Spain has also agreed to the urgent transfer of the ship's doctor, who is in a serious condition, on a medicalised plane to the Canary Islands.

The operation is part of the arrangements coordinated with the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which is assessing the epidemiological situation on the ship.

Clavijo has called for a meeting with Spanish President Pedro Sánchez and the Minister of Health, Mónica García, and warned that the decision "does not convey peace of mind" to the Canary Islands population.

He also insisted that "the position of the Government of the Canary Islands" is to reject the operation as it has been proposed, considering that the necessary data to guarantee the health safety of the archipelago has not been provided.

The first hospitalised plane arrives in Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde has confirmed the arrival in the country of one of the two ambulance planes planned to evacuate three people affected by the outbreak detected on the cruise.

According to the country's Ministry of Health, "the sanitary evacuation of the three patients will be carried out in the next few hours, using two ambulance planes, in coordination with the competent national and international authorities".

The department specified that one of the aircraft is already in the country and that a second plane is expected to arrive, as well as a specialist doctor to assist the occupants of the ship.

The health authorities stressed that once the evacuation process is completed, the ship should resume its journey. The Ministry assured that the operation is being prepared "with maximum security and inter-institutional coordination", with the participation of all the entities involved, in order to guarantee its execution as soon as the necessary conditions are met.

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