In a rare personal message to island residents on Saturday, Dr Tedros confirmed he would travel to Spanish territory to oversee the disembarkation of nearly 150 passengers and crew, following a hantavirus outbreak on board which left three people dead.
“It is not common for me to write directly to the residents of a single community, but today I think it’s not only appropriate, it’s necessary“, he said.
Fresh COVID Memories
“I know you’re worried…The pain of 2020 is still real, and I’m not dismissing it for a moment. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID.”
The ship is carrying the Andean strain of hantavirus, a serious respiratory illness that is the only strain where human-to-human transmission has been recorded (order WHO hantavirus fact sheet here).
According to the latest WHO situation report, eight cases have been linked to the ship, six of which were laboratory confirmed. However, Tedros stressed that the risk to the general public remains “low”.
A “safety corridor”
Spanish authorities have established a rigorous protocol to ensure that the virus does not enter the local community. The ship will dock on Sunday at the industrial port of Granadilla, located away from residential areas.
Passengers will be transported in “sealed and guarded vehicles, through a fully cordoned off corridor”, and repatriated directly to their country of origin.. “You will not meet them. Your families will not meet them,” assured the Director General.
The WHO’s decision to seek help from Spain was made under the International Health Regulations, which require the nearest port with sufficient medical capacity to provide aid in the event of an international health emergency.
International solidarity
Tedros praised Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the people of Tenerife for fulfilling what he described as a “moral duty”. The passengers on board represent 23 different countries and have been at sea for several weeks.
“Tenerife was chosen because it has the medical capacity, infrastructure and humanity to help them get to safety,” Tedros said.
“I plan to travel to Tenerife to… personally pay tribute to an island that responded to a difficult situation with grace, solidarity and compassion.”
THE MV Hondius has been the focus of an international tracing effort after the first probable case – a male passenger who had crossed from South America – died on board in mid-April. Since then, cases have been hospitalized in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Currently, there are no symptomatic passengers remaining on board the ship.. A WHO expert is already on board the ship to monitor the situation as it reaches the Canary Islands on Sunday.
Concluding his message, Tedros called for trust in public health preparations: “As I have said many times: viruses don’t care about politics and they don’t respect borders. The best immunity each of us has is solidarity.”
