A plane carrying passengers from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius departed Spain’s Canary Islands Sunday, bound for Madrid where they will be quarantined at a military hospital.
Spanish nationals were the first to leave the vessel, which remains anchored off Tenerife. Health officials report that none of the more than 140 people aboard have shown symptoms. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reassured the public the risk remains low.
Passengers and crew from over 20 nationalities will be evacuated through Monday. Only the 14 Spanish nationals will quarantine in Spain. Other nations-including the U.S., UK, Netherlands, France, Australia, and Norway-are sending planes to repatriate their citizens.
Three people have died in the outbreak, and five former passengers are infected with Andes hantavirus, a rare strain that can spread between people. Symptoms appear one to eight weeks after exposure.
British Army medics parachuted onto the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, where a suspected case has been reported in a former passenger. The territory has no airstrip, accessible only by boat. A Spanish woman who tested negative for the virus was also under observation.