<\/p>\n
In a rare public message aimed at a single community, Tedros said personal outreach was necessary given fresh memories of the COVID-19 crisis. Tedros said the situation is serious but different in nature, emphasising that the incident is \u201cnot another COVID-19\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The MV Hondius is linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, a severe respiratory illness and the only hantavirus strain where human-to-human transmission has been recorded. According to the latest WHO situation report referenced in the message, eight cases have been linked to the ship, with six cases laboratory-confirmed. Tedros said overall risk to the general public remains low.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Spanish authorities have established a strict protocol to prevent the spread into the local community. The ship docked at the industrial port of Granadilla, located away from residential areas. Passengers are expected to be moved in sealed, guarded vehicles through a cordoned-off corridor, then repatriated directly to their countries of origin.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WHO requested Spanish assistance under the International Health Regulations, which set out responsibilities for providing support at the nearest port with sufficient medical capacity during an international health event.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tedros praised Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez for support, described as a moral duty, while also highlighting the scale of the operation. The passengers plus crew represent 23 countries and have spent weeks at sea during response efforts. Tedros said travel to Tenerife is planned to oversee disembarkation and to acknowledge what was described as a compassionate response.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The outbreak has triggered international tracing after the first probable case, linked to travel through South America, died on board in mid-April.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cases have since been hospitalised in South Africa, the Netherlands, plus Switzerland. WHO reporting indicates no symptomatic passengers remain on the vessel, with a WHO expert already on board to monitor health measures during the final leg to the Canary Islands.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tedros urged confidence in the safety arrangements, reiterating that solidarity remains the strongest protection during cross-border health threats.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":34120,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-34119","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a direct appeal for calm plus solidarity to residents of Tenerife ahead of the scheduled arrival of the MV Hondius on Sunday, following a hantavirus outbreak on board that has claimed three lives.","published_date":"","news_description":"World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a direct appeal for calm plus solidarity to residents of Tenerife ahead of the scheduled arrival of the MV Hondius on Sunday, following a hantavirus outbreak on board that has claimed three lives.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34121,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34119\/revisions\/34121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}