WHO chief: Hantavirus not another COVID, risk stays low

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressed a public letter to the citizens of Tenerife, Spain, regarding the arrival of the vessel “MV Hondius”, on which a hantavirus outbreak was identified. In his message, Tedros acknowledged the concerns of the island’s residents, recalling the trauma of the COVID‑19 pandemic, but emphasized that the current situation does not pose the same risk. “This is not another COVID. The current public‑health risk from hantavirus remains low,” he said, reports Klankosova.tv. According to the WHO, the Andes strain of hantavirus was identified on the ship, and three people have died. However, health authorities have indicated that there are currently no symptomatic passengers on board. Tedros noted that a WHO expert is on the vessel and that Spanish authorities have prepared a detailed plan for transferring the passengers. They will disembark on Sunday at the industrial port of Granadilla, away from populated areas, and will be transported in sealed, protected vehicles to airports for return to their home countries. “You will not meet them and your families will not come into contact with them,” he assured Tenerife’s citizens. The WHO chief also thanked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for receiving the ship, calling the decision “an act of solidarity and a moral duty”. He explained that the WHO’s request to Spain was made in accordance with the International Health Regulations, which stipulate that the nearest port with sufficient medical capacity should assist in such emergencies. He said about 150 people from 23 countries have been stranded at sea for weeks, frightened and far from their families, and Tenerife was chosen because of its medical capacity and necessary infrastructure. Tedros also announced that he plans to travel to Tenerife himself to oversee the operation and to express gratitude to health workers, port staff and the island’s residents. “Viruses do not care about politics and do not respect borders. The best immunity we have is solidarity”, he concluded.