{"id":2600730,"date":"2026-05-09T10:32:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T14:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/spain-readies-for-evacuations-as-a-hantavirus-hit-cruise-ship-heads-for-the-canary-islands\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T10:36:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T14:36:51","slug":"spain-readies-for-evacuations-as-a-hantavirus-hit-cruise-ship-heads-for-the-canary-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/spain-readies-for-evacuations-as-a-hantavirus-hit-cruise-ship-heads-for-the-canary-islands\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain readies for evacuations as a hantavirus-hit cruise ship heads for the Canary Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fspain-readies-for-evacuations-as-a-hantavirus-hit-cruise-ship-heads-for-the-canary-islands%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2600730&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Spanish authorities are preparing to receive teh MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/2020-was-the-brian-stelter-of-years\/\" title=\"2020 Was the Brian Stelter of Years\">cruise ship<\/a> with a hantavirus outbreak, expected to arrive Sunday in Tenerife (Canary Islands). Health officials plan careful, staged evacuations into a wholly isolated, cordoned-off area, with passengers transported in guarded, closed vehicles and using restricted parts of the airport.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. and U.K. are sending planes to repatriate their citizens. After the outbreak was confirmed, some passengers had already left the ship without contact tracing, prompting a broad international effort to identify and monitor more than two dozen people across multiple countries.Three deaths have been reported since the outbreak began, and five passengers who left the ship are known to be infected.<\/p>\n<p>The World Health Institution says the risk to the general public is low and notes hantavirus is typically spread through contaminated rodent droppings rather than easily person-to-person.WHO also reported a flight attendant who was briefly exposed by an infected passenger tested negative, further lowering concerns about transmissibility.<\/p>\n<p>Passengers on board say they have mostly been able to continue normal routines while wearing masks and distancing, but they worry about stigma once they reach Spain. Meanwhile, U.S.officials say Americans still on the ship will be quarantined at the University of Nebraska Medical Centre, where specialized biocontainment facilities will be used.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p><strong>MADRID (AP) \u2014<\/strong> Spanish authorities on Friday were preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4561096\/cdc-team-americans-hantavirus-cruise-ship\/\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >hantavirus-stricken cruise ship<\/a><\/a> headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations.<\/p>\n<p>The vessel is expected to arrive Sunday at the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/africa\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"792\">West Africa<\/a>, and passengers will be taken to a \u201ccompletely isolated, cordoned-off area,\u201d said the head of Spain\u2019s emergency services, Virginia Barcones.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4561797\/hungary-peter-magyar-sworn-in-prime-minister-ending-viktor-orban-rule\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Hungary\u2019s Peter Magyar is set to be sworn in as prime minister, ending Viktor Orban\u2019s 16-year rule<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4561121\/two-party-politics-dead-buried-uk-local-election-bloodbath\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Two-party politics \u2018dead and buried\u2019 in UK after local election bloodbath<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4561150\/trump-announces-three-day-ceasefire-between-russia-and-ukraine\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump announces three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\" style=\"--aspect-ratio:calc(696 \/ 464)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\">\n<figure><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Misper Apawu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\">\n<figure><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Health workers in protective gear arrive to evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Misper Apawu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\">\n<figure><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">The MV Hondius cruise ship departs the port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Misper Apawu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\">\n<figure><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Workers prepare the area where passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship are expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\">\n<figure><figcaption class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption\">Passengers on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, watch epidemiologists board the boat in Praia, during their voyage to Spain\u2019s port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Both the U.S. and the U.K. have agreed to send planes to evacuate their citizens from the cruise ship.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>While <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hantavirus-questions-unknowns-cruise-ship-02e775b71cad672a0a79c8a5916ce732\">three people have died since the outbreak<\/a>, and five passengers who left the ship are known to be <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hantavirus-andes-virus-cruise-ship-rodents-e7e64b81dbee4b21c5301be9e1d945c5\">infected with hantavirus<\/a>, cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said Friday there were no people with symptoms of a possible infection on board the Dutch-flagged ship, the MV Hondius.<\/p>\n<p>The World Health Organization considers the risk to the wider public from the outbreak as low.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, the WHO said a flight attendant on a plane briefly boarded by an infected cruise passenger has tested negative for hantavirus. Her possible infection had raised concerns about the virus\u2019 potential transmissibility.<\/p>\n<p>The flight attendant\u2019s negative result should ease concerns among the public, said Christian Lindmeier, a WHO spokesman. \u201cThe risk remains absolutely low,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is not a new COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hantavirus is usually spread by the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/what-to-know-hantavirus-cruise-ship-366c781ff168656ff47ae9796965daaa\">inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings<\/a> and isn\u2019t easily transmitted between people. But <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/argentina-hantavirus-cruise-ship-5841c25be9aa6dd3cd6edc81c74609de\">the Andes virus<\/a> detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/what-to-know-hantavirus-cruise-ship-366c781ff168656ff47ae9796965daaa\">able to spread<\/a> between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.<\/p>\n<p>Health authorities across four continents were tracking down and monitoring more than two dozen passengers who disembarked the ship before the deadly outbreak was detected. They were also scrambling to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hantavirus-andes-virus-cruise-ship-rodents-e7e64b81dbee4b21c5301be9e1d945c5\">trace others<\/a> who may have come into contact with them.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-passengers-on-the-ship-worry-about-how-people-will-treat-them\">Passengers on the ship worry about how people will treat them<\/h2>\n<p>In interviews with The Associated Press, two Spanish passengers \u2014 speaking on condition of anonymity because of fears they\u2019ll be ostracized once on land \u2014 said that despite the outbreak, their days aboard have passed with relative tranquility. Some people are bird-watching, and others are gathering in common areas to read or attend talks, while wearing masks and social distancing. Both passengers told AP <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hantavirus-cruise-spain-f98dd0e269c2144267623ec278d00e51\">they\u2019re worried<\/a> about how they\u2019ll be treated in Spain and once home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re scared by all the news that\u2019s coming out, by how people are going to receive us, by how people see us,\u201d one said. \u201cWe\u2019re just normal people. We\u2019ve heard that this is a millionaires\u2019 cruise, and it\u2019s the complete opposite of reality. And we\u2019re scared by this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Officials sought to reassure the public in the Canary Islands about possible exposure to the virus among the general population.<\/p>\n<p>Once the ship reaches Tenerife, passengers will be evacuated in small boats to buses only after their repatriation flights are ready to take them, Spanish officials said Friday. Passengers will be transported in isolated and guarded vehicles, officials said, adding that the parts of the airport they travel through will be cordoned off.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-countries-scramble-to-track-passengers-who-disembarked\">Countries scramble to track passengers who disembarked<\/h2>\n<p>On April 24, nearly two weeks after the first passenger had died on board, more than two dozen people from at least 12 different countries left the ship without contact tracing, Dutch officials and the ship\u2019s operator said Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t until May 2 that health authorities first confirmed hantavirus in a ship passenger, the WHO said.<\/p>\n<p>The KLM flight attendant who tested negative for the virus was working on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-separate-incident-from-hawaii-flight-five-people-go-to-hospital-after-severe-turbulence\/\" title=\"In Separate Incident From Hawaii Flight, Five ... Go To Hospital After \u2018Severe Turbulence\u2019\">flight headed<\/a> from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on April 25, and had later fallen ill.<\/p>\n<p>The cruise passenger briefly aboard that flight \u2014 a Dutch woman whose husband died on the ship \u2014 was too ill to stay on the international flight to Europe and was taken off the plane in Johannesburg, where she died.<\/p>\n<p>The Dutch public health service is undertaking contact tracing on passengers who had contact with the ill woman before she left the plane.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, U.K. health authorities said a third British national who had been a passenger on the ship is suspected of being infected with hantavirus. The U.K. Health Security Agency said the person is on the island of Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory in the south Atlantic where the ship stopped in April. There was no word on the condition of the person.<\/p>\n<p>Spanish health officials said Friday a woman in the southeastern Spanish province of Alicante has symptoms consistent with a hantavirus infection and is being tested.<\/p>\n<p>She was a passenger on the same flight as the Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg after traveling on the cruise ship, Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Two other Britons who were on the ship have been confirmed to have the virus. One is hospitalized in the Netherlands and the other in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities in South Africa are working to trace contacts of any passengers who previously got off the ship. They have focused mainly on an April 25 flight from the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic to Johannesburg, the day after some passengers disembarked on the island.<\/p>\n<p>Some state officials across the U.S. said they are monitoring a small number of residents who were on the ship and already went home, as well as people who may have come into contact with ship passengers. None has symptoms.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-health-officials-in-the-us-detail-plans-for-american-passengers\">Health officials in the US detail plans for American passengers<\/h2>\n<p>The U.S. agreed to send a plane to repatriate about 17 Americans who are still on the ship. Those passengers will be quarantined at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine, the hospital said Friday. None have symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors will determine how long the quarantine will last after assessing the passengers.<\/p>\n<p>The dedicated biocontainment and quarantine unit in Omaha previously was used to treat Ebola patients and some of the first COVID-19 patients. Nebraska Medicine is one of a handful of hospitals in the U.S. with specialized treatment units for people with highly dangerous infectious diseases.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4560178\/trump-one-big-glow-iran-war-peace-deal\/\"><strong>TRUMP SAYS WORLD WILL SEE \u2018ONE BIG GLOW\u2019 FROM IRAN IF DEAL NOT REACHED<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are prepared for situations exactly like this,\u201d Dr. Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The British government said it will charter a plane to evacuate the nearly two dozen British nationals onboard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spanish authorities ready to receive 140+ from hantavirus cruise to Tenerife, careful evacuations planned<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2634,"featured_media":2600731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26128713435344.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[79380,52315,11648],"class_list":["post-2600730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-canary-islands","tag-cruise-ship","tag-spain"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26128713435344.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2600730"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2600734,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600730\/revisions\/2600734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2600731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2600730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2600730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2600730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}