The Hondius has almost 150 people on board and remains marooned off the coast of Cape Verde in west Africa, where it has been since at least Monday, after authorities refused it permission to dock.
Three passengers have died in the outbreak and the WHO said in an update Wednesday that there were so far eight cases, three of which are confirmed as hantavirus by laboratory testing.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that three patients with suspected hantavirus were evacuated from the ship Wednesday morning. Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement that two of them had “acute symptoms.”
One medic is on board the Hondius and two more infectious disease specialists from the Netherlands are due to board the ship and remain on board.
Spain’s national government in Madrid had said that the Canary Islands would accept the ship and it would begin a three-to-four-day journey there — but the archipelago’s regional government opposed the move.
“This decision is not based on any technical criteria, nor is there sufficient information to reassure the public or guarantee their safety,” regional leader Fernando Clavijo told radio station COPE.
Clavijo said he had requested an urgent meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, though the decision ultimately rests with the country’s national government which can overrule regional authorities.
A British man is still being treated in an intensive care unit in South Africa.
The three passengers to have died were a Dutch couple and a German national; none have been identified.
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