90-Second Read: WHO Director Will Travel To Tenerife For Hantavirus Ship Evacuation: ‘Pain Of 2020 Is Still Real’

Health officials are directly monitoring people in California, Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Virginia and New Jersey who were either aboard the Hondius or potentially exposed to Hondius passengers who disembarked from the ship before the outbreak was discovered. The man's wife died in Johannesburg after collapsing at an airport in South Africa, with health officials confirming she had the Andes variant of the Hantavirus. WHO officials said on May 6 that lab-confirmed Hantavirus cases increased to five with at least three additional suspected cases aboard the Hondius. The strictly monitored evacuation will send those aboard the ship back to their respective countries. The states have not yet reported symptoms among the people being monitored.

A German national suspected of contracting Hantavirus died aboard the ship and a British passenger was evacuated after contracting the illness. The WHO confirmed the ship outbreak on May 2, weeks after the first passenger died. Hantavirus Cruise Passengers Will Be Evacuated Soon, Report Says (Latest Updates) (Forbes) Spanish authorities have a step-by-step plan in place to ferry the Hondius passengers ashore to the port of Granadilla, which is far from residential areas, according to Ghebreyesus. The passengers will then be placed in sealed and guarded vehicles that will drive through a cordoned off route, the WHO chief added.

Ghebreyesus said the people of Tenerife will not encounter the passengers. The variant is the only known version of Hantavirus capable of human-to-human transmission through close and prolonged contact. Hantavirus is contracted through inhalation or contact with rodent excrement or saliva. Officials with the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control have insisted the risk of a large-scale outbreak remains low. An ABC report citing an official from the Canarias Region government said passengers will wear full protective equipment, while those who are not ready to be transferred to the airport will remain on the ship.

The passengers will be taken directly to an airport runway, where planes bound for their respective countries will be waiting, according to CBS News, which cited a press conference given by Spanish officials Friday. Nearly two weeks later, a 70-year-old man aboard the ship died before his body was removed from the vessel. The Hondius first departed Argentina at the start of April.