Dozens of passengers were evacuated from the Hantavirus-stricken ship on Sunday for a medical evacuation, though some were seemingly breaking PPE rules within hours of disembarking
Passengers were seen flouting the mask rules within hours of arriving
MV Hondius was finally permitted to dock and disembark passengers in the Canary Islands on Sunday after suffering a Hantavirus outbreak early last month.
The disease, known for its high fatality rate, has tragically claimed the lives of three passengers on board the cruise liner while many more are currently ill with the nasty virus.
On Sunday (May 10), the Spanish island permitted a medical evacuation of those left on board the ship with several escorted from the vessel onto flights to their home nations where they will then self-isolate in quarantine. The vessel docked in the port of Granadilla in Tenerife yesterday for the carefully managed operation with more evacuations set to take place today (Monday).
However, residents across the island have been concerned by the scenes of those who have already disembarked, with fears of another COVID-type pandemic hitting the Spanish islands.
Several passengers were allegedly spotted without properly fitting facemasks within hours of arriving yesterday. One passenger, reportedly from the Netherlands, was photographed waving to reporters from the back of a bus after pulling off his mask.
In another snap, another passenger from the vessel can be seen with a facemask dangling from his ear, despite everyone else in the area being fully kitted out in PPE, reports The Mirror.
According to local media, a Spanish healthcare worker from the state-deployed medical support team was spotted on Sunday stepping off one of the buses provided by the military’s emergency response unit, the Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME), before stripping off his PPE in the middle of a public area.
As residents fear their region could become the epicentre of yet another pandemic-era catastrophe, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was questioned by journalists over the relaxed approach to quarantine measures, reports the Express.
He appeared unmoved. He replied: “I saw that in the picture [of a maskless passenger] also,” he said. “[The mask] was hanging on his ears. You know, so many of these passengers are elderly, and you can imagine how uncomfortable could be – especially when you have FFP2 masks.”
He stressed the importance of remembering that the majority of passengers who disembarked the vessel affected by the ray-transmitted illness are predominantly elderly and already face “many health challenges” that come with advancing years.
“Many of them are elderly and they have many other chronic conditions. There could be symptoms associated with those. So if there are symptoms, it doesn’t mean that it’s related to hantivirus.”
While the WHO officials did not appear particularly alarmed by the relaxed attitude some had towards wearing masks, social media users were far from satisfied.
One user commented: “Tell that to all the essential workers required to wear them for hours upon hours during Covid. Not an excuse.”
A second wrote: “Oh ok, but they forced [masks on us] during Covid. No matter what.” While a third noted: “[Wearing a mask is] not more uncomfortable than dying.”
Meanwhile, in the hours following disembarkation from the infected cruise ship at Tenerife, another passenger began exhibiting hantavirus symptoms while being repatriated to their home nation of France, the country’s prime minister confirmed.
Sébastien Lecornu revealed the French national developed symptoms aboard a chartered flight from Tenerife to Paris, and consequently all five evacuees from the MV Hondius had been “immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice”. The French nationals are amongst over 90 holidaymakers to be transported home from the Dutch vessel on Sunday, which dropped anchor off the Canary Islands before daybreak.
While official statements from the Spanish islands do confirm that health authorities are treating both quarantine and decontamination measures seriously, this has done little to ease concerns amongst residents that their homeland could become the focal point of another pandemic.
Healthcare worker David Hernández told the Independent he was consumed by worry upon learning that the MV Hondius would shortly arrive in Tenerife.
“I thought, ‘Why us?’ Everyone will be scared by the uncertainty of the situation. This is bringing back flashbacks of the Covid-19 pandemic. We had a terrible time in the hospital then,” the intensive care nurse, 29, told The Independent.
“I am human, and understand we all could have been on that cruise ship, but there must be some protocols.”
The prospect of another quarantine brought distressing memories from the 2020 pandemic flooding back, the-29-year-old said.
The Canary Islands became a hotspot for the spread of coronavirus in February 2020, after several infected guests checked into a Tenerife hotel. Those guests thrust more than 1,000 people into complete lockdown, making headlines across the globe.
The pandemic saw tourism come to a standstill; the island’s primary source of income. Hernández continued: “The population on the island has grown by about a million on the island since the pandemic, and we have the same 24 beds in the intensive care unit. I don’t think we can cope,” he said.
Retired teacher Francesca Borges said: “We think, ‘Why us again?’. During Covid lots of cruise ships were stranded here.”
Ms Borges, 65, added to the Independent: “There is a history of the Canary Islands having to take responsibility for a European problem. There is a sense that the Spanish government has always had this attitude that the Canary Islands is treated like a colony when it is in a situation like this.”
