Following Spain’s activation of the Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) for the MV Hondius cruise ship, which was contaminated by the Hantavirus, the European Union coordinated four emergency flights to evacuate 94 passengers from Tenerife on Sunday, the European Commission confirmed on Monday 11 May.
Two other flights, including one chartered by Australia, are due to repatriate around twenty occupants to the Netherlands this evening, before the ship sets sail again.
“Safeguarding of public health is the Commission’s priority number one”, said a spokeswoman, pointing out that the current risk to the European population is considered “low” by the World Health Organization (WHO) (see EUROPE 13864/6).
In a post published on X the same day, the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was “very grateful for the swift and efficient disembarkation” of the MV Hondius, thanking the Spanish government for its crisis management.
To date, eight passengers have tested positive for the Hantavirus. The Commission is still “on standby regarding additional transport, logistic capacities and protective equipment, should any of this be needed”, particularly for the 42-day quarantines recommended by the WHO. (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)