Hantavirus-hit cruise ship arrives in Tenerife with Spanish passengers to be evacuated first – Europe live

Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature We have a useful explainer on the hantavirus here: While nobody onboard the vessel has symptoms, passengers and crew have been confined to their cabins in the last few days to help halt the spread of the virus, which is only transmitted through very close contact. They will each be screened for hantavirus, which can cause flu-like symptoms leading to respiratory arrest and death, in some cases. The 19 passengers and three crew from the UK will be immediately flown from Tenerife to Merseyside for hospital quarantine at Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral. Those from elsewhere will take separate flights to their home countries, after reassurance from the Spanish government and the World Health Organization (WHO) that they will not come into contact with people in Tenerife. Medical personnel in the port of Granadilla. Photograph: ANP/Shutterstock They are being asked to isolate for 42 days from their point of potential exposure, which for most of the passengers will be many days ago. Authorities have sought to make clear that the virus, though serious, would not result in another pandemic. However, the director general of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was asked at a press conference in Tenerife late on Saturday night whether allowing passengers to travel all over the world and relying on them to self-isolate with no oversight could cause further outbreaks. …