Australian officials are on their way to the island of Tenerife to help repatriate four citizens and one permanent resident aboard the hantavirus-hit MV Hondius.
The cruise ship at the centre of the outbreak is set to dock on the Spanish-controlled island on Sunday morning local time (2.30pm AEST), where authorities will be waiting.
Once they arrive, passengers will be ferried ashore to an industrial port in ‘sealed, guarded vehicles’ and taken through a ‘completely cordoned-off corridor’ and repatriated directly to their home countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Passengers are unable to stay on the island or take commercial flights home, meaning countries are expected to help their citizens get home.
It comes just days after the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed there had been a deadly outbreak of hantavirus on the ship, resulting in at least three deaths and multiple serious illnesses.
While it is understood that none of the Australian passengers have displayed any symptoms of the virus, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials have travelled to the island to evaluate repatriation plans.
‘DFAT consular officials are travelling to Tenerife to provide consular assistance to them and coordinate response efforts with local authorities and partner countries,’ a DFAT spokesperson said.
‘We are considering options for the safe repatriation of the four Australians and permanent resident. Our priority is the safety of the community.’
Health workers in protective gear have evacuated three patients from the MV Hondius ship
The ship is expected to dock at Tenerife at 2.30pm AEST on Sunday, with passengers to disembark within hours
Passengers will be ferried ashore to an industrial port in ‘sealed, guarded vehicles’ and taken through a ‘completely cordoned-off corridor’, according to health authorities
However, just hours before the vessel is expected to dock, the operation was thrown into chaos after it was revealed some of the countries’ planes wouldn’t arrive on time.
Canary Islands President Fernando Batlle, said the planes had been given a specific window to arrive and receive their passengers, due to the strict health protocols.
He also singled out Australia and the Netherlands at the impromptu press conference on Sunday morning, stating the delayed flights would drag the operation out and put Tenerife’s residents at risk.
President Batlle told reporters he’d been promised by WHO and the Spanish government that the passenger transfer would be completed in a day or so; however he hasn’t been given proof of that.
He has now cancelled the ship’s authority to dock at the Port of Granadilla.
As the ship approaches the coastline, it’s possible the Spanish Government will be able to override the decision and make a further declaration.
The Daily Mail has contacted DFAT for an update.
Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said passengers will be disembarked from the ship using either the Zodiac craft or launch boats, with a maximum of five passengers per Zodiac or 10 passengers per launch boat.
Australian consular officials (stock image) are due to arrive in Tenerife to assist the four Australian citizens and one permanent resident onboard the MV Hondius
However President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Batlle, appears to have cancelled the operation at the eleventh hour after some of the repatriation planes failed to arrive on time
‘The sequence of disembarkation will be coordinated with arriving repatriation flights,’ a spokesperson for Oceanwide Expeditions said.
‘Luggage of all guests will remain on board MV Hondius. Oceanwide Expeditions is in contact with all guests regarding the process for returning all luggage safely to them.
‘After the guests and limited crew have disembarked, MV Hondius will bunker and take on necessary supplies at Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Following this, the vessel will transit to the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands with the remaining crew members aboard.’
Hantavirus, which is transmitted to humans through infected wild rodents, such as mice or rats, can cause life-threatening illness.
It usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn’t easily transmitted between people.
However the Andes strain detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms, which include fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
There is no cure.
