90-Second Read: Passengers disembarking after Hantavirus-hit cruise ship arrives in Tenerife

The cruise ship at the center of the Hantavirus outbreak has arrived at the Spanish island of Tenerife, where its 147 passengers are expected to disembark. Passengers have begun to disembark the cruise ship at the center of the Hantavirus outbreak, Spain's ministry of health said, in a carefully managed repatriation operation involving multiple nations. The Hantavirus outbreak was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2 and remains a low risk to the general public, the WHO said. Maria Van Kerkhove further explains Hantavirus outbreak: 'This is not COVID' The vessel, MV Hondius, had earlier Sunday morning docked at the Spanish Island of Tenerife carrying 147 people. Passengers were seen being ferried in small boats from the cruise ship anchored at the Port of Granadilla to the.

The first plane carrying passengers from the cruise ship left for Madrid, where they will be taken to a military hospital. Prior to disembarking, medical teams boarded the ship to run tests on passengers and crew, Spain's health minister Mónica García said shortly before 8 a.m. After briefly being assessed at the unit, the passengers will then be able to undergo home-based monitoring over the next 42 days, the official said, with monitoring expected to be at least daily. The sequence of disembarkation will be coordinated with arriving repatriation flights," Oceanwide said, adding that passengers' luggage would remain on the ship and be returned to them later. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said that the 17 American passengers — none of whom have symptoms — will be transported.

After reaching the island, disembarked passengers filed onto waiting buses to be taken to the airport. Nobody among the more than 140 people on the MV Hondius is showing symptoms of the virus, Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said. Since the vessel departed Argentina last month, the deaths of three people have been linked to Hantavirus — a rare disease typically caused by exposure to infected rodents' urine or feces — while others have been evacuated from the ship for medical treatment. Local officials earlier said the ship would anchor at "the safest" distance from the dock, and passengers would be brought ashore by nationality in small boats with a maximum capacity of 10 people, according to the tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions. They will.

Fourteen Spanish passengers are expected to disembark the vessel first and will wear FFP2 masks — along with those involved in bus transfers and logistics, García said on Saturday. CDC teams will meet Americans on Hantavirus-stricken ship at Nebraska quarantine unit The two Dutch passengers on board will be the second group to leave the vessel, García said on Sunday morning. Port workers in Tenerife have also held protests, voicing their concerns about a lack of communication about the potential risks. CNN has contacted Ports of Tenerife and Clavijo's office for comment.