The cruise ship at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak has arrived in Spain's Canary Islands, where authorities have begun a large-scale operation to test passengers and fly them home for quarantine. The MV Hondius anchored off the island of Tenerife on Sunday after days at sea while governments and health agencies coordinated a response to the outbreak, which has killed three people and infected several others.
Spain's Health Minister Monica Garcia described the evacuation effort as an "unprecedented operation" and said it was "proceeding normally". Officials said repatriation flights would continue through Sunday and Monday.
The response involves Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization (WHO) and several countries including the United States, Germany and France, which have sent aircraft to evacuate their citizens.
Medical teams boarded the vessel after it reached Tenerife to test passengers and crew.
According to Oceanwide Expeditions, the operator of theluxury cruise ship,passengers will be "transferred immediately to their allocated aircraft" after disembarking and will later enter quarantine in their home countries.
Pedro Gullón, Spain's director general of public health, said strict measures had been put in place to prevent contact with local residents. "The operation has been designed to avoid any contact with the local population," he said.
"Only the essential personnel, equipped with full personal protective equipment, participate in the loading and unloading tasks."
Around 150 people were onboard the MV Hondius when reports first emerged of passengers suffering from what the WHO described as a "severe respiratory illness". The agency also said 34 passengers and crew members had previously left the vessel.
Spanish officials said passengers would be brought ashore in small boats according to nationality before being transferred by bus to a nearby airport.
Spanish nationals are being evacuated first, followed by passengers travelling to the Netherlands, Turkey, France, the UK and the US.
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