Tenerife to receive 'Hantavirus ship' at secondary port as British doctor is stabilised and flown to Holland

SPAIN’S health minister Monica Garcia confirmed today the MV Hondius would dock in Tenerife in around three days’ time with all the passengers on board who are currently showing no hantavirus symptoms.

She also revealed the condition of the infected British doctor on board, who was going to be airlifted to the island and hospitalised in the Tenerife capital Santa Cruz before authorities decide to fly him to Holland instead, had improved.

The unnamed medic is one of three people being airlifted from the virus-ravaged cruise liner off Cape Verde to the Netherlands.

Mrs Garcia said: “The British doctor was yesterday in a more critical condition but he has been stabilised and won’t be transferred to Spain now in line with the Dutch government’s request to us, but is instead being transferred to Holland."

She added, speaking a day after Spain agreed to receive the cruise liner: “All the passengers and crew that remain on the ship at present are asymptomatic.

“Once the evacuation of those with symptoms in Cape Verde has concluded, the ship will continue to the Canary Islands where it is expected to arrive in around three days’ in the secondary Tenerife port of Granadilla de Abona.

“It’s a port with very little activity, a secondary port, which is 10 minutes away from Tenerife South Airport.

“Once it’s arrived, a joint operation of medical evaluation will be launched along with an evacuation operation for all the foreign passengers via a European Civil Protection mechanism unless their medical condition renders this impossible."

She added measures would be adopted to avoid any contact between those on board the ship and the local population.

The 13 Spanish passengers and one crew member on board will be flown on a military plane to an airport on the outskirts of Madrid before being taken to a military hospital in the Spanish capital and quarantined for as long as necessary.

Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in an official statement: "The outbreak of Hantavirus is very serious and deeply stressful for those affected and their families. The UK response is being led by the UK Health Security Agency working with the WHO.

"The Foreign Office is working urgently to support the UKHSA’s work overseas and to make sure British nationals on the MV Hondius can all get safely home with proper protection for public health.

"Foreign Office consular staff are in direct contact with British nationals onboard the ship and stand ready to provide further assistance to any British national in need of support overseas 24/7 - our crisis response centre has been operating for the last few days to provide support.

"Ministers are in close touch with our Dutch and Spanish counterparts and we have been working with other countries to facilitate the medical evacuations, to support our Overseas Territories and to get British nationals home safely as quickly as possible."