90-Second Read: Hantavirus latest: What’s next for cruise, passengers heading home

The cruise ship at the center of a Hantavirus outbreak is set to anchor near the Canary Islands this weekend so passengers and some crew can disembark. WHO officials explained on Saturday, May 9, 2026, the evacuation process coming for passengers and some crew onboard the cruise ship with the Hantavirus outbreak. What we want to do is make sure we're focused on the passengers and crew on board." The head of the World Health Organization is seeking to reassure residents of Tenerife worried about the arrival there of a Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship. The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, with more than 140 passengers and crew on board, is sailing on its way to Spain's Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa, and is expected to arrive at the island of.

There will be small boats that will bring the passengers in groups to the dock. Down the road, all passengers and crew who disembark are recommended active monitoring and follow up for 42 days since the point of last exposure with a confirmed or suspected case. The current public health risk from Hantavirus remains low. What will happen in the next 24-48 hours, is that the boat will anchor off the Canary Islands in Tenerife. About two dozen Americans were on the ship, including about seven who disembarked last month and 17 who remained on board, the Associated Press reported.

Those planes will take individuals back to home countries." People of more than 20 different nationalities are currently on board. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz has more on what people need to know. The risk to the people in the Canary Islands is low, so we do need to continue to contextualize this. Because of all the attention right now, people might think that the risk is growing, it's not. Several top ranking medical officials are on board, and have done thorough medical assessments and detailed exposure assessments to understand who may be at risk of getting infected.

Americans will reportedly be quarantined at a medical center in Nebraska. Van Kerkhove said the United States and Canada were considering sharing a plane home from the Canary Islands, but those details weren't confirmed yet. If there's anybody that developed symptoms, anyone that has symptoms, they will immediately go to a medical evacuation plane and be taken to the Netherlands for care. For those who are healthy, those who are doing well, they will go to individual planes that are being organized by countries. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.