Canary Islands REJECT docking of plagued cruise ship amid demand for urgent meeting with Spanish PM

The regional Government of Spain's Canary Islands has opposed permitting the cruise ship contaminated by an outbreak of the deadly hantavirus to dock on the archipelago.

The outbreak emerged aboard MV Hondius Saturday as the ship travelled from Ushuaia in Argentina towards Cape Verde off the West African coast, so far claiming three lives, with seven others reported with infection.

Fernando Clavijo, President of the Canary Islands, said today: "This decision is ⁠not based on any technical criteria, nor is there sufficient ⁠information to reassure the public or guarantee their safety."

Mr Clavijo added he had requested an urgent meeting with the country's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to discuss the issue.

It comes as health authorities are racing to contain the outbreak amid fears one of three fatalities could have spread infection.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed it believes the virus may have spread directly between passengers on board the vessel, which is unusual for a disease typically transmitted through rodent urine, droppings and saliva.

A Dutch couple, aged 70 and 69, were the first fatalities, followed by a German national who also died on board.

The WHO has now confirmed seven suspected cases among those aboard the stricken vessel, working to track down passengers who shared a flight with the Dutch woman before her death.

She departed the ship at Saint Helena on April 24 after experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms and was declared dead upon reaching a Johannesburg hospital's emergency department.

The WHO stated: "Contact tracing for passengers has been initiated."

Airlink, which operates a single weekly service from the island, has been instructed by South African authorities to inform passengers they must contact health officials.

Meanwhile, a British man, 69, who was also aboard the cruise ship has been transferred to Johannesburg, where he remains in intensive care receiving treatment for the virus.

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Cape Verde's health ministry confirmed one air ambulance has already arrived in the Atlantic archipelago to transport three patients from the port in Praia to the nearby airport.

Ann Lindstrand, the WHO's representative in Cape Verde, described the mission as a "complicated expedition" with circumstances "changing by the hour."

Nearly 150 passengers from 23 countries remain stranded aboard the vessel, largely restricted to their cabins as disinfection procedures continue.

Cape Verde authorities previously refused to permit the ship to dock at the Port of Praia, citing the need to protect public health.

Among those now ill is the ship's British doctor, who had been treating patients on board.

Passenger Ann Lane from Dublin told the Irish Times: "The doctor had been treating everybody day and night, really dedicated to what he was doing, he has been fabulous.

"He's a younger man, British. He has been sick quite a few days, maybe since last Thursday."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed the UK Government is arranging safe passage home for British nationals trapped on the ship.

Writing on X, he said: "We are working closely with international partners to support British nationals on board and we're putting plans in place for their safe onward travel."

Sir Keir emphasised the risk to the wider public remains very low.

Hantavirus infections carry a mortality rate of approximately 40 per cent, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.

Symptoms typically emerge between two and four weeks following exposure, although this window can extend from two days to eight weeks, raising concerns that additional passengers may fall ill in the coming period.

Early warning signs include fatigue, fever, muscle pain and severe headaches, with cases potentially progressing to serious respiratory illness or haemorrhagic disease.

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