Hantavirus Cruise Ship Passengers Evacuated From Tenerife As Last Flight Home Set for Monday

• More than 90 passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius have been evacuated from the Canary Islands
• Three people have died during the outbreak on the Dutch vessel, including two who tested positive for hantavirus
• The World Health Organisation has recommended a 42-day quarantine period for all passengers from the time of their last exposure to the virus

Nerissa Naidoo, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, previously worked as an editor, content creator, researcher, and ghostwriter before joining the team.

SPAIN, TENERIFE - The MV Hondius pulled into the industrial port of Granadilla in Tenerife in the early hours of Sunday, 10 May 2026. This brought an end to weeks of fear and uncertainty for the more than 100 passengers and crew who had been stuck on board during a deadly hantavirus outbreak.

The ship was not allowed to dock and instead anchored offshore, with a security perimeter enforced around it as it approached the island. Medical teams went on board at around 07:00 local time to check everyone for signs of the virus before the evacuations began.

Read also

Langlaagte shooting leaves two dead as gunmen open fire on patrons socialising outside tavern

Who was evacuated and where are they going?

Spanish health minister Monica Garcia confirmed that all passengers were showing no symptoms at the time of their medical checks. Spain's 14 nationals were the first to leave, heading to Madrid, where they face mandatory quarantine at a military hospital. French and British nationals followed. They flew to Paris and Manchester. Flights were also arranged on Sunday for Canadian, Turkish, Irish and American passengers. Belgian, Greek, German, and Argentine citizens were taken to the Netherlands. The final flight, heading to Australia, is expected to depart on Monday, 11 May 2026. Around 30 crew members will remain on board to sail the ship back to the Netherlands.

Staff at the Tenerife airport wore full hazmat suits during the evacuation. They hosed down passengers on the tarmac before they boarded their flights. Dozens of intensive care specialists were also placed on standby at the Candelaria hospital in case anyone became seriously ill during the transfer.

Read also

Eastern Cape Health Department dismisses hantavirus outbreak claims at provincial hospital

A long quarantine ahead

The evacuation may be the end of the journey on the ship, but it is far from the end for many passengers. The WHO has recommended a 42-day quarantine period based on the virus's incubation period, which can be up to nine weeks.

Five French nationals were placed in strict isolation after one of them developed symptoms on the plane home. British passengers were taken to an isolation facility for up to 72 hours, after which doctors would decide whether they could finish their quarantine at home.

The outbreak has been linked to a landfill site in the southernmost tip of Argentina, a spot popular with birdwatchers, where the virus is carried by rodents.

More on the hantavirus

An Airlink crew was told to stay home after a passenger on a flight from St Helena Island died from hantavirus shortly after landing in Johannesburg.

The Eastern Cape Health Department stepped in to shut down claims circulating on social media about a hantavirus outbreak at Grey Hospital.

Read also

Airlink crew told to stay home after passenger on flight from St Helena Island dies from hantavirus

The first person identified as having contracted hantavirus has been named as a 70-year-old ornithologist from the Netherlands.

Source: Briefly News