The Minister of Health, Mónica García, confirmed that the disembarkation in the Canary Islands will take place at the request of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This decision follows the evacuation of three infected individuals to the Netherlands, including a severe case and a high-risk contact who will quarantine in Germany.
The vessel, currently anchored in Praia, Cape Verde, is expected to arrive in the Canary Islands in the coming days. The shipping company Oceanwide Expeditions has requested docking for Saturday. Among the passengers are 14 Spanish citizens, who will be transferred by military aircraft to the Torrejón air base and subsequently to the Gómez Ulla hospital in Madrid to complete a quarantine under strict clinical protocols.
“"The operation will not pose any risk to the Canarian public or its economic activity."
Upon arrival in Granadilla, an individualized health assessment will be activated for all passengers. Repatriation will be coordinated through the European civil protection mechanism, with the participation of the European Commission, Foreign Health, and the ECDC. The minister assured that transfers would be carried out with “all guarantees,” in a specific operation and without contact with the local population, to prevent any risk of transmission.
The Andean hantavirus subvariant, which has affected eight people on board the cruise with three fatalities, has a lethality close to 50% and is transmissible between humans. The incubation period can extend up to 45 days, and the duration of quarantines will depend on the timing of each individual's last risk contact.
Regarding criticisms about the lack of information to the Government of the Canary Islands, Minister García and the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, stated that regional authorities have been informed “at all times.” The Government of the Canary Islands will be part of the European Civil Protection Mechanism for the repatriation of travelers, a decision that Spain has taken for “humanitarian, ethical, and moral reasons” and in compliance with international commitments.
