Canary Islands refuses to allow MV Hondius with hantavirus to dock
Key takeaways
- Three people have died from the disease so far but the WHO says the risk to the public is still ‘low’.
- About 150 people from 23 countries remain stranded on board the Hondius, and three passengers – a Dutch couple and a German national – have already died after contracting hantavirus.
- Switzerland has confirmed that one of its nationals who was on board the ship contracted the illness and is receiving treatment in Zurich, with authorities saying the patient does not pose a threat to the public.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Three people have died from the disease so far but the WHO says the risk to the public is still ‘low’.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Cruise ship MV Hondius docks off Cape Verde port, as passengers were not allowed off the ship, while health authorities investigated suspected cases of hantavirus on board the vessel, in Praia Port, Cape Verde, May 4, 2026 [Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff, Reuters and The Associated Press Published On 6 May 20266 May 2026The Canary Islands have refused to allow a luxury cruise ship experiencing a hantavirus outbreak, a rare disease transmitted to humans from rodents, to dock at any of its ports, despite the Spanish government saying it would be permitted to do so.
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, said regional authorities could not allow the MV Hondius – currently anchored off the coast of Cape Verde – to enter the archipelago, saying authorities lacked enough information about the outbreak of the potentially deadly disease to guarantee public safety.