EMILY FENG, HOST:
The passengers from the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the center of the recent hantavirus outbreak, are being evacuated and flown home to their respective countries. The ship arrived in the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa, and authorities have been transferring passengers since early morning local time today. NPR's Miguel Macias is on the line from Seville, Spain. Hi, Miguel.
MIGUEL MACIAS, BYLINE: Hi, Emily.
FENG: So, Miguel, this has been a complex operation. It has involved the army, local authorities and the World Health Organization. Tell us about the logistics.
MACIAS: Yes, throughout the day, starting as soon as there was daylight, health officials boarded the vessel to conduct an evaluation. Five people who were infected with hantavirus left the ship during its cruise. Three passengers died during that voyage. The transferring of the roughly 150 passengers on board started with the 14 Spaniards who were ferried to land, taken to the closest airport, about 10 minutes away, and flown to Madrid where they will be quarantined at a military hospital. This process continues to happen. After the Spaniards came the French, and that plane has arrived in France, and we learned that one passenger has shown symptoms during that flight. A number of other nationalities are following, including 17 Americans. The last group of passengers will be transported on Monday, and the Americans will be quarantined at a medical center in Nebraska.
FENG: I have to wonder, Miguel, why are they disembarking in the Canary Islands?
MACIAS: Yes, well, many in Spain are also wondering. Authorities have said that the Canary Islands was the closest, best prepared location for this operation. It's not completely clear if other countries simply could not agree to be a part of it. After some back-and-forth, it was decided that the vessel could not actually dock at the port but stay at a distance and as we said, that passengers could be ferried in small groups. Each country is responsible for transporting their nationals back to their destination from the airport, and after a number of hours, it almost seems like all the controversy that this operation was surrounded by might have been moot.
FENG: What is that controversy?
MACIAS: Well, the operation has become very political very quickly. The central government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has proudly taken on this task. The message has been clear - there is practically no risk, and we got this under control. Now, the national political opposition have accused the prime minister of using this as a distraction strategy. Distraction, they say, from a corruption case undergoing trial at the moment. And the regional government as late last night, hours before the boat arrived, they tried to block the operation, and the central government had to overrule them. In fact, the president of the regional government of the Canary Islands asked the health minister on Saturday about the possibility that rodents could swim from the boat to the port.
FENG: And he's worried about that because hantavirus is normally transmitted from rodents to humans, right?
MACIAS: Correct. And to be clear, there's no indications that there are rodents on board. Part of the population in Spain, though, has been quite indignant at the fact that it was their country that had to come to the rescue. Many of the statements we're hearing remind us of those early days of the COVID pandemic, but the World Health Organization has said that the risk of the hantavirus outbreak to the general public is low.
FENG: That's NPR's Miguel Macias in Seville, Spain. Thank you.
MACIAS: Thank you, Emily. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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