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Huge crowds protest in Canary Islands ahead of hantavirus ship's ...
The cruise ship MV Hondius, which has had the outbreak of hantavirus, is expected to arrive in Tenerife this weekend but locals are angry as they fear the virus could spread among residents15:32, 08 May 2026Massive crowds of port workers and other locals are protesting in Tenerife over plans to allow the hantavirus cruise ship to dock this weekend.Spanish authorities on Friday were preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations.The vessel is expected to reach the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, on Saturday or Sunday. None of the remaining passengers or crew on the ship is currently symptomatic, the Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions cruise ship company said Thursday.But residents in the Canary Islands are far from happy fearing the virus could spread among locals and they have questioned from the start why the Spanish government agreed for the ship to stop in Tenerife.READ MORE: 'I treated hantavirus passengers on doomed cruise – there's one big fear about disease'READ MORE: Another Brit has suspected hantavirus as infected cruise heads to TenerifeWhile politicians in Madrid have said there is a “moral and legal obligation” to help those on board the ship, local people have begun protesting with placards saying “unsafe port” or “for work no, for the risk yes” in a message to politicians.Some people could be heard saying: “We want work, not illness.”The president of the Tenerife Port Authority, Pedro Suárez, explained this Friday that the passengers of the MV Hondius will be transferred in shifts, first in small boats and then by road directly "to the bottom of a plane's steps" where they will then be flown to their respective countries.He has attempted to “calm tempers” but it has had little impact with the large number of protesters saying "safety is not optional". And a union of dock workers - the Platform for the Port of Tenerife, has threatened to "block" the ship's entry to the Canary Islands "if we are not given safety guarantees", said its spokesperson Elena Ruiz.One person told local media: "I am from the Canary Islands and they treat us like rubbish." Another person protesting said: “It’s the same story as with Covid. They’re not fooling us. We’re fed up with the Canary Islands being Pedro Sánchez’s dumping ground."The UK Health Security Agency said no...
Canary Islands Residents Worry About Arrival Of Cruise
The arrival this weekend of a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of hantavirus is reviving memories for residents of Spain's Canary Islands of the quarantines they experienced during the Covid pandemic.The MV Hondius, carrying 150 people, is expected to reach Tenerife on Saturday, where it will dock after Spain agreed to requests from the World Health Organization to receive it despite protests from the local government.The archipelago was one of the first places in Europe to undergo quarantines during the early days of the pandemic. More than 700 holidaymakers were stranded in a hotel in Tenerife for 14 days in February 2020 after authorities cloistered the compound to prevent the spread of the virus, weeks before it propagated to the rest of Europe.Other epidemics, such as an outbreak of Ebola in 2014, have also affected the islands, whose economy relies heavily on tourism. The archipelago has also complained that it has had to bear the brunt of a migration crisis from Western Africa."We are a community that’s already quite flexible when it comes to helping others and being accommodating to people, but I think this is excessive," said local resident Margarita Maria, 62. "People are scared, people are worried. Spain is a huge country with plenty of ports where the cruise ship could go."The World Health Organization says the risk to the public remains low and the variant detected among passengers can spread between humans only through close, prolonged contact.Nevertheless, the news was stirring fears that hospitals and health centres on Tenerife would have to be locked down, said a nurse who asked not to be identified."It will be just like Covid ... People are worried about their children, elderly relatives and the vulnerable," the nurse said, adding that the islands' quarantine protocol for viruses, if one was declared, would affect schools and healthcare centres.All the passengers left on board the ship were not presenting symptoms of the disease and would be repatriated to their countries, while the 14 Spaniards on board would be flown to a hospital in Madrid to quarantine, Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said on Wednesday.Some residents complained that the Canaries' status as a safe destination meant it always had to shoulder responsibilities other tourist markets shirk."Tourist destinations competing with the Canary Islands in the international market, such as Morocco, have not been taken into account, and the decision has been made to bring the cru...
On Tenerife, anxious locals protest the arrival of hantavirus-hit ...
Demonstrators attend a protest by port workers over lack of information ahead of the arrival of the MV Hondius, following a deadly hantavirus outbreak on board the ship, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife ...
Hantavirus Cruise Ship Live Updates: Spain readies evacuations as ...
Spanish authorities on Friday were preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations. The vessel is expected to arrive Sunday at the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, and passengers will be taken to a "completely ...
