Spanish Health Minister Mónica García stated that the disembarkation was “proceeding normally” and that all passengers aboard the MV Hondius were still asymptomatic.
The passengers are being brought to shore by nationality in small boats, as per tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions. Their luggage will stay on the ship, which will sail to the Port of Rotterdam with the remaining crew, taking about five days to reach the Netherlands.
The MV Hondius anchored early Sunday at the Port of Granadilla in the Canary Islands, where Spanish authorities erected large reception tents and restricted access to the waterfront.
France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands dispatched planes to repatriate their citizens. The European Union sent two additional planes for other EU nationals, as Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced at a press conference in Madrid. The United States and Britain are coordinating flights for non-EU citizens from nations unable to send assistance.
All of the more than 100 passengers are undergoing testing for hantavirus, a rare disease typically spread through contact with infected rats.
The WHO reported on Friday that there are six confirmed cases of the “Andes” hantavirus variant linked to the cruise ship and two probable cases. The Andes is the only variant known to spread among humans, with an incubation period of up to nine weeks.
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