WHO chief travels to Tenerife as hantavirus ship nears Spain

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Ghebreyesus is traveling to Tenerife as the hantavirus-struck cruise ship MV Hondius approaches the Canary Islands, carrying nearly 150 people from 23 countries who have been at sea for weeks.

Six cases have been laboratory-confirmed as Andes virus, the only strain of hantavirus known to spread person-to-person. The WHO says the risk to the global public remains low.

The ship won't be allowed to dock.

Passengers will be ferried ashore at an industrial port, transported in sealed vehicles through a cordoned corridor, and flown directly home to the US, UK, France, and beyond.

Officials have told residents, 'You will not encounter them.'

WHO Director-General Tedros wrote an open letter to the people of Tenerife saying, “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 evacuation window is Sunday to Monday, as the weather will close in after that.

CGTN's Ken Browne reports from the dockside in Tenerife.


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