Spain Hantavirus Ship
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, speaks to the media near the area where passengers from the MV Hondius are expected to arrive at the port of Port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Saturday, May 9, 2026.
As featured on
The head of the World Health Organization is seeking to reassure residents of the Spanish island of Tenerife worried about the anticipated arrival there of a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship. He issued a direct message to them Saturday stressing that the virus is “not another COVID.” The MV Hondius has more than 140 passengers and crew on board. It is headed to Spain’s Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa. It is expected to arrive at the island of Tenerife early Sunday. Once there, the passengers and some crew will disembark. Officials say no one on the ship is currently showing symptoms of hantavirus.
Passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship have started flying home aboard military and government planes after the vessel anchored in the Canary Islands. That's where travelers were escorted to shore Sunday by personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks. Spanish passengers were the first to leave the MV Hondius following its arrival in Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago off the West African coast. They were then flown to Madrid and taken to a military hospital. Hours later, a plane that evacuated French passengers landed in Paris, where it was met by emergency vehicles. One of the five French passengers developed symptoms on the flight.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.