NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
The cruise ship linked to the deadly Hantavirus outbreak arrived early Sunday from the Spanish island of Tenerife, where evacuations are expected to begin.
Passengers will be tested by Spanish health authorities to ensure they are asymptomatic before being taken ashore in small boats, Spanish officials said, according to Reuters.
The evacuation is expected to begin between 7:30 am and 8:30 am local time, with Spaniards disembarking first, followed by passengers of other nationalities, Reuters reported.
After that they are expected to be taken to the island’s main airport and sent back to their countries. Many Americans are believed to have boarded the MV Hondius.
AMERICANS TO BE ESCAPED FROM HANTAVIRUS CRUISE SHIP AS WORLD HEALTH HEAD GOES TO QUARANTINE ISLAND
The MV Hondius cruise ship arrives at the port of Granadilla de Abona after being affected by the Hantavirus outbreak, in Tenerife, Spain, on May 10, 2026. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)
Fox News Digital previously reported that the US government plans to transfer the American passengers to a military base in Nebraska for quarantine and employment.
The ship left Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the WHO and the European Union asked for help in controlling the outbreak.
The arrival of this ship comes hours after the Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on the island.
The WHO said on Friday that eight people on the ship fell ill, including three who died. Six cases have been confirmed, and the other two are suspected.
HANTAVIRUS DEATH IN SUFFERING SHIP RAISES DANGER OF STICK-BORNE DISEASE
A cruise ship linked to a Hantavirus outbreak has been grounded near the Spanish island of Tenerife ahead of a scheduled departure. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)
In a statement on Saturday, Ghebreyesus said the public health risk remains low.
“I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word ‘breakout’ and you look at the ship towards your shore, you remember that none of us have ever fully rested,” he said.
“The pain of 2020 is still real, and I’m not wasting a minute. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID-19. The current public health risk from Hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I say this unequivocally, and I will say it to you now,” he continued.
ARGENTINA RESEARCHERS ZERO IN ON POSSIBLE ORIGIN OF HANTAVIRUS POINT IN DEADLY PROGRESS
A police boat works near the MV Hondius cruise ship in the port of Granadilla de Abona after it was affected by an outbreak of hantavirus, in Tenerife, Spain, on May 10, 2026. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay)
Gebreyesus noted that the virus identified on the ship is the Andes strain of hantavirus, which can be severe.
“Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families,” he wrote, reiterating that the public health risk posed by the virus remains low.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
An ambulance takes patients off the ferry MV Hondius to the airport in Praia, Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. (Misper Apawu/AP)
About 30 crew members are expected to remain on board as the ship continues to the Netherlands, where it will be disinfected.
Fox News Digital’s Robert McGreevy and Reuters contributed to this report.
