Sick trio evacuated as Canary Islands leader refuses to let hantavirus ship dock

Fernando Clavijo, the leader of the Spanish archipelago, said on Wednesday he was opposed to the ship docking there and requested an urgent meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

That contradicted the position of the Spanish government, which said it would dock the ship at the secondary port of Granadilla de Abona in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands.

Three people were evacuated from Cape Verde, the head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, confirmed on Wednesday, saying they would travel to the Netherlands.

One of those people is the ship’s British doctor, who was originally headed to the Canary Islands but is now headed to the Netherlands as his condition has improved, the Spanish Health Ministry said.

Two specialist doctors from the Netherlands will also arrive and stay with the ship after it leaves Cape Verde, the tour operator said on Wednesday. There is already another doctor on board.

The Swiss government confirmed that one patient was being treated in hospital for hantavirus after returning to Switzerland from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, which is in the midst of a deadly outbreak of the rodent-borne disease.

“The man had returned with his wife from a trip to South America at the end of April,” the government said in a statement.

“Once he noticed the symptoms, he called his GP and went to the University Hospital Zurich for further assessment.”

The man was “immediately placed in isolation” at the hospital before laboratory tests revealed a positive test for the American-strain hantavirus variant.

The man’s wife, who accompanied him on the cruise, is not showing any symptoms of the virus but is isolating herself as a precaution.

The Swiss Ministry of Health said the risk of hantavirus to the public in Switzerland was low

“Unlike European hantaviruses, which are transmitted through secretions from infected rodents, person-to-person transmission of the American hantavirus variant has also been documented in rare cases,” the department wrote.

“However, transmission only occurs through close contact. The FOPH therefore considers it unlikely that further cases will occur in Switzerland.

“The FOPH therefore considers it unlikely that further cases will occur in Switzerland.”

In addition to the Swiss patient, two laboratory-confirmed cases of hantavirus and five suspected cases from the ship cluster have been identified, according to the World Health Organization.

That includes three deaths, one seriously ill patient and three people reporting mild symptoms.

Clavijo, the leader of the Canary Islands, publicly rejected the Spanish government’s call to allow the MV Hondius to dock in the islands.

The luxury cruise ship has been idle since May 3 in the waters off the coast of Cape Verde, on the African coast, which was supposed to be the ship’s final destination.

Spain’s health ministry said it had been asked by the World Health Organization and the European Union to take the MV Hondius “in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles.” Sydney Morning Herald.

But speaking to radio station COPE, Clavijo said he could not allow the ship to enter the Canary Islands.

“This decision is not based on technical criteria, nor is there sufficient information to reassure the public or guarantee their safety,” Clavijo told radio station COPE, according to Reuters.

Earlier today, Spanish state broadcaster TVE said the infected cruise ship was sailing towards Europe and expected to dock in Tenerife in the coming days, citing sources from the country’s health ministry.

On Monday, cruise line Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed that four Australians were among the 88 passengers and 68 crew on board the ship.

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