90-Second Read: Hantavirus live updates: Evacuations begin after MV Hondius arrives in Canary Islands

The MV Hondius cruise ship, on which the Hantavirus infection was identified, is making its way to the Canary Islands. Passengers onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship began disembarking on Sunday morning in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, where they were expected to continue on to charter flights back to their home countries. Pavlin also confirmed that the first Hantavirus cases on board the MV Hondius had previously traveled to this region in the north. The total number of confirmed and probable cases of Hantavirus onboard the ship is eight, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus. As of Saturday none of them had tested positive for the Hantavirus, according to the Centers for Disease.

The passengers onboard the MV Hondius began disembarking from the ship in Tenerife on Sunday morning. The average person has no reason to worry" about potential Hantavirus infection, according to an expert with the World Health Organization (WHO). Spain's health minister, Monica Garcia, who was at the port in the Canary Islands on Sunday, said the remaining passengers were all thought to be asymptomatic. Boris Pavlin, an epidemiologist and the team lead for Field and Humanitarian Epidemiology at the WHO, told ABC News. I know it's a new name for a lot of people, but this is not a new virus.

Here's what you need to know about Hantavirus including what it is, how it spreads, how it's treated and if there are any prevention methods: Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illnesses and death, according to the CDC. Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person, but that also is rare and only suspected for one subtype from South America, according to the WHO. This Andes Hantavirus has spread in limited amount from human to human... The local government in the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago off the northwestern African coast, said it would like everyone off the boat and out of the Canary Islands by today. Teams will bring back Americans to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska.

The entire operation is proceeding normally and I said the first to disembark will be the Spanish citizens, and then the flight to the Netherlands will depart," Garcia said prior to the passengers' beginning of their departures from the ship. Evacuations from the ship were expected to began as soon as possible. Eastern time, according to a source in the Spanish president's office. Pavlin additionally confirmed that no one on board was currently showing any symptoms but were "just being monitored as a precautionary measure." He also said he understands why people are concerned. We've known about it for decades and it's not surprising us.