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WHO explains what's next for cruise with hantavirus outbreak
WHO officials explained on Saturday, May 9, 2026, the evacuation process coming for passengers and some crew onboard the cruise ship with the hantavirus outbreak.
The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, with more than 140 passengers and crew on board, is sailing on its way to Spain's Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa, and is expected to arrive at the island of Tenerife early Sunday.
From there, the passengers and crew will be evacuated this weekend.
Hantavirus latest
Big picture view:
Several top ranking medical officials are on board, and have done thorough medical assessments and detailed exposure assessments to understand who may be at risk of getting infected.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s Director of Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, said Saturday that no passenger or crew member on board currently is symptomatic.
By the numbers:
The case count currently stands at:
- 8 cases
- 3 deaths
RELATED: Hantavirus is 'not the next COVID,' experts say: What to know
How will cruise ship passengers get home?
FILE - This aerial view shows passengers watching as unseen health personnel assists patients onto a boat from the cruise ship MV Hondius, while stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (Photo by AFP via Getty Imag …
What's next:
Van Kerkhove explained Saturday what will happen to get the passengers and some crew members home.
"What will happen in the next 24-48 hours, is that the boat will anchor off the Canary Islands in Tenerife," she said. "There will be small boats that will bring the passengers in groups to the dock. There will be a medical screening that will be done. If there’s anybody that developed symptoms, anyone that has symptoms, they will immediately go to a medical evacuation plane and be taken to the Netherlands for care. For those who are healthy, those who are doing well, they will go to individual planes that are being organized by countries. Those planes will take individuals back to home countries."
Local perspective:
People of more than 20 different nationalities are currently on board.
About two dozen Americans were on the ship, including about seven who disembarked last month and 17 who remained on board, the Associated Press reported.
Americans will reportedly be quarantined at a medical center in Nebraska.
Van Kerkhove said the United States and Canada were considering sharing a plane home from the Canary Islands, but those details weren’t confirmed yet.
RELATED: Arizona resident on cruise ship being monitored by health department
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Hantavirus outbreak: Arizonan being monitored
Health officials say an Arizona resident who is on a small cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak is among those being monitored after returning home. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz has more on what people need to know.
Timeline:
Van Kerkhove said the goal is for all of the homebound flights to happen on Sunday and Monday.
Down the road, all passengers and crew who disembark are recommended active monitoring and follow up for 42 days since the point of last exposure with a confirmed or suspected case. Van Kerkhove said the 42-day window has already begun counting down for many people on board.
Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
What they're saying:
"The risk to the general public is low. The risk to the people in the Canary Islands is low, so we do need to continue to contextualize this," Van Kerkhove said. "Because of all the attention right now, people might think that the risk is growing - it’s not. What we want to do is make sure we’re focused on the passengers and crew on board."
Dr. Tedros letter
Meanwhile:
The head of the World Health Organization is seeking to reassure residents of Tenerife worried about the arrival there of a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship.
What they're saying:
"I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word ‘outbreak’ and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment," Tedros said in a message to the people of Tenerife.
"But I need you to hear me clearly: This is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now," Tedros added.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, given at a WHO press conference on Saturday, May 9, 2026. Background information was taken from previous FOX Television Station reporting and The Associated Press. This story was reported from Detroit.