The Daily Populous Wednesday May 6th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by theguardian.com and submitted by AnnualEmbarrassed176

Three people with suspected hantavirus, including a British doctor who is a crew member, have been medically evacuated from a cruise ship.

The 56-year-old Briton, along with a Dutch colleague aged 41 and a 65-year-old German, were taken from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius for onward travel to the Netherlands, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Spanish health officials said the British medic was in a more stable condition, having previously been in a critical condition.

The WHO said there are eight cases, five of them confirmed.

The evacuation means the ship, with close to 150 people onboard, can now continue on its three-day journey to the Canary Islands after Spanish authorities gave permission for the vessel to dock. But a row has erupted, with the president of the Canary Islands expressing concern over the ship docking in Tenerife.

The ship was anchored off Cape Verde while arrangements were put in place to evacuate the crew members but on Wednesday evening, it was reported that the ship had left Cape Verde and was on its way to the Canary Islands.

10:31 Hantavirus hell: passengers stuck on cruise ship with deadly virus – The Latest

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, posted on X: “Three suspected hantavirus case patients have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands in coordination with WHO, the ship’s operator and national authorities from Cabo Verde, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.

“WHO continues to work with the ship’s operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew, working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed.

“Monitoring and follow-up for passengers onboard and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship’s operators and national health authorities. At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low.”

A Dutch couple and a German national who had been on the ship have died.

The foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the UK had been working with other countries to facilitate evacuations and Foreign Office staff were in direct contact with British nationals onboard.

“The Foreign Office is working urgently to support the UKHSA’s [UK Health Security Agency’s] work overseas and to make sure British nationals on the MV Hondius can all get safely home with proper protection for public health,” she said.

Authorities in Switzerland also said a former passenger who tested positive was being treated at a Zurich hospital.

The passenger had left the ship at Saint Helena and it was unclear how he had travelled to Switzerland or which countries he might have passed through. Swiss authorities insisted there was “no risk” to the public.

Since the start of the outbreak, the WHO has emphasised that the risk to the public is low.

People usually become infected with hantavirus through contact with infected rodents or their urine, their droppings or their saliva, and human-to-human transmission is rare.

But a limited spread among close contacts has been observed in some previous outbreaks with the Andes strain, which has spread in South America, including Argentina, where the cruise trip started in March.

Health officials in Europe and Africa are trying to identify people who may have had contact with people who earlier left the ship, which departed on 1 April from South America for stops in Antarctica and several remote Atlantic islands.

South Africa’s health ministry said 62 contacts had been identified, including flight crew and healthcare workers. The contacts will be monitored until an incubation period has passed. None have been diagnosed with the hantavirus so far.

Two Argentine officials investigating the origins of the outbreak said the government’s leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus while bird-watching in the city of Ushuaia before boarding.

They said the couple visited a landfill during the tour and may have been exposed to rodents, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Cape Verde was meant to be the ship’s final destination but the country off west Africa has not allowed the vessel to put passengers ashore because of the outbreak.

Have you been affected? If you or a friend or family member has been affected, please get in touch by filling in the form below or by messaging us. Please share your story if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you wish. For more information please see our terms of service and privacy policy Tell us here Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For alternative ways to get in touch securely please see our tips guide Name Where do you live? Tell us a bit about yourself (e.g. age, background, what you do) Optional If you or friend or family member have been affected, we would like to hear from you Please include as much detail as possible. Do you have any concerns? Optional Please include as much detail as possible. If you are happy to, please upload a photo of yourself here Optional Please note, the maximum file size is 5.7 MB . Choose file Can we publish your response? Yes, entirely Yes, but contact me first Yes, but please keep me anonymous No, this is information only Phone number Optional Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Email address Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. You can add more information here Optional If you include other people's names please ask them first. Would you be interested in speaking to our audio and/or video teams? Audio only Video only Audio and video No, I'm not interested By submitting your response, you are agreeing to share your details with us for this feature. Submit Show more

Late on Tuesday, the Spanish health ministry said it had been asked by the WHO and the EU to take the MV Hondius and had agreed “in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles”.

The tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement: “At this stage, the planned destination for MV Hondius following the successful medical transfer is the Canary Islands.

“Oceanwide Expeditions remains in close and continual discussion with relevant authorities regarding our exact point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and a precise timeline.

“We are unable to confirm the details of onward travel for guests at this stage. This is dependent on medical advice and the outcome of stringent screening procedures.”

The UK Foreign Office said it had been in touch directly with all British passengers onboard the ship.

SakuraUme on May 6th, 2026 at 13:33 UTC »

Keep that fucking boat in the ocean and air drop supplies. We don't need this rn man

Known_Limit_6904 on May 6th, 2026 at 10:43 UTC »

Plague ship

CreepySniper94 on May 6th, 2026 at 10:03 UTC »

Welp that’s not exactly great.