2026-05-09T16:46:36.941Z

WHO Director-General states hantavirus situation "is not another COVID-19."
Cruise ship outbreak has caused three deaths to date.
Vessel set to reach Canary Islands off Spain on Sunday for passenger evacuation.

The World Health Organization's Director-General emphasized that the ongoing hantavirus outbreak - linked to three fatalities so far - is not comparable to COVID-19.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus conveyed this reassurance in a social media post aimed at Tenerife residents, ahead of a cruise ship's arrival for evacuation early Sunday. Local protests have arisen over fears of a new pandemic sparked by the vessel.

"I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word 'outbreak' and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest," Ghebreyesus stated on Saturday. "The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID-19."

Ghebreyesus noted the public health risk from hantavirus is low, with no symptomatic passengers currently on the MV Honduis.

"Spain's authorities have prepared a careful, step-by-step plan: passengers will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries," he explained. "You will not encounter them. Your families will not encounter them."

WHO first learned of severe respiratory illnesses among cruise ship passengers on May 2. By May 8, eight cases were confirmed, including three deaths. Officials identified the virus as the Andes strain, which shows limited human-to-human spread.

The United States, having exited WHO earlier this year, issued guidance via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 8, stating the risk to Americans and travelers "remains extremely low."

Ghebreyesus expressed gratitude to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for hosting the ship.

"I intend to travel to Tenerife to observe this operation firsthand, to stand alongside the health workers, port staff, and officials who are making it happen, and to personally pay my respects to an island that has responded to a difficult situation with grace, solidarity, and compassion. Your humanity deserves to be witnessed, not just acknowledged from a distance," he added.

He concluded, "As I have said many times: viruses do not care about politics, and they do not respect borders. The best immunity any of us has is solidarity."

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