90-Second Read: WHO head seeks to reassure residents of Spanish island where Hantavirus-stricken ship is headed

The head of the World Health Organization is seeking to reassure residents of the Spanish island of Tenerife worried about the anticipated arrival there of a Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship. Spanish authorities were on Saturday preparing to receive more than 140 passengers and crew members on board a Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they will perform careful evacuations. Residents in Tenerife's southern town of San Isidro voiced a mix of fear and sympathy Saturday as a cruise ship linked to a Hantavirus outbreak prepared to arrive in the Canary Islands with more than 140 passengers and crew on board. As a Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship is set to arrive at Granadilla port in Tenerife, Spain on Sunday morning, the WHO, Spanish authorities and cruise company Oceanwide Expedition are coordinating the disembarkation of passengers and some crew on ground.

The cruise ship caught up in a Hantavirus outbreak is headed to Spain's Canary Islands. Three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with Hantavirus. Dutch public health authorities have been monitoring people who were on a flight that was briefly boarded by a Dutch ship passenger who later died and was confirmed to have Hantavirus. Preparations were underway at Granadilla port, where the vessel is expected to arrive on Sunday.

The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, with more than 140 passengers and crew on board, is headed to Spain's Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa, and is expected to arrive at the island of Tenerife early Sunday. The current public health risk from Hantavirus remains low. It wasn't until May 2 that health authorities first confirmed Hantavirus in a passenger. Three people who were on the flight and had symptoms have all tested negative for Hantavirus, Dutch National Institute for Public Health spokesperson Harald Wychgel told The Associated Press on Saturday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with Spain's Health Minister Monica Garcia and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, arrived on the island Saturday to coordinate the disembarkation of passengers and some crew. The WHO, Spanish authorities and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said nobody on the Hondius is currently showing symptoms of the virus. Those without symptoms will go into home quarantine for six weeks and be monitored by local health services.