When will passengers leave hantavirus cruise ship? WHO details its plan

Passengers aboard the hantavirus-stricken expedition ship MV Hondius are expected to begin disembarking in carefully managed groups early Sunday, May 10, in Tenerife, as the World Health Organization coordinates a large-scale international repatriation effort after multiple deaths were linked to an outbreak on board.

According to a May 9 update from Oceanwide Expeditions, the vessel is scheduled to arrive at the industrial port of Granadilla in Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, at 5:30 a.m. local time on May 10. Passengers and a limited number of crew are expected to begin disembarking around 8 a.m. local time before being transferred directly to waiting aircraft.

The company said passengers will leave the ship either aboard Zodiac craft carrying a maximum of five people or launch boats carrying up to 10 people under strict health protocols. The timing of each group’s disembarkation will be coordinated with repatriation flights organized by governments and international agencies.

Oceanwide Expeditions said it is not involved in the screening or repatriation process, which is being led by the WHO and national authorities.

WHO says Tenerife residents will not encounter passengers

In a public letter on May 9 addressed directly to residents of Tenerife, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sought to reassure locals worried about the ship's arrival after memories of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID,” Ghebreyesus wrote. “The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low.”

Ghebreyesus said there are currently no symptomatic passengers aboard the ship and confirmed a WHO expert remains on board. He also detailed the extensive precautions planned for the evacuation operation.

“Passengers will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries,” he wrote. “You will not encounter them.”

Americans headed to quarantine in Nebraska

The WHO and national governments have spent days coordinating flights for passengers from more than 20 countries.

During a May 9 WHO briefing, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the agency’s acting director of epidemic and pandemic management, said any passenger who develops symptoms during the evacuation would immediately be transferred to a medical evacuation plane and flown to the Netherlands for treatment.

Healthy passengers will board country-specific repatriation flights in Tenerife.

The U.S. State Department confirmed a repatriation flight is being arranged for Americans aboard the ship. Once back in the United States, passengers will be transported to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC officials said epidemiologists and medical teams will conduct exposure assessments for American passengers and monitor them during a recommended 42-day observation period.

Outbreak linked to at least three deaths

The WHO said eight people have fallen ill in connection with the outbreak, including three who died: a Dutch couple and a German national. Six cases have been confirmed as Andes strain hantavirus infections, while two remain suspected cases.

Spanish health officials said on May 8 that a woman tested after sharing a flight with a passenger who later died from hantavirus had tested negative, though additional precautionary testing is planned.

After passengers disembark, the Hondius is expected to take on supplies before sailing to Rotterdam in the Netherlands with roughly 30 remaining crew members aboard. Passenger luggage will remain on the vessel and be returned separately, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.

USA TODAY reporter Sara Moniuszko contributed to this report.

Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter @athompsonUSAT