Cruise ship with hantavirus to head to Spain after permission to dock in Canary Islands

A luxury cruise ship that has been hit by an outbreak of the deadly hantavirus was preparing to travel ​from Cape Verde towards Europe on Wednesday after the Spanish government gave permission for it to dock in the Canary Islands, Reuters writes.

The Spanish Health Ministry said it had been asked by the World Health ‌Organization and the European Union to take the MV Hondius “in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles”.

It said it would also on Tuesday evening receive a medical flight carrying the ship’s doctor, a Dutch national who it said was gravely ill, following a formal request from the Dutch government.

A Dutch couple and a German national have died since the outbreak manifested in early April, while a British national was evacuated from the ship and is in intensive care in South Africa, officials said.

Cape Verde was meant to be the ship’s final destination but the nation off West Africa has not allowed the ​vessel to put passengers ashore.

Once in the Canary Islands, at a port yet to be determined, the Spanish health ministry said crew and passengers would be examined, treated and repatriated ⁠to their respective countries.