Anger and resignation in Tenerife as hantavirus ship approaches

MV Hondius approaches Tenerife as the people of the Spanish island await it with a mixture of uncertainty and anger. The Spanish government has agreed with the World Health Organization (WHO) that the passengers of the vessel, which has seen an outbreak of the hantavirus, should be allowed to disembark there this weekend. The vessel has travelled from Cape Verde, where three people were evacuated due to illness.

Some Tenerife dock workers gathered outside the Canary Islands' parliament building in the town of Santa Cruz to voice concerns that the imminent arrival could pose a health risk for them. Joana Batista, of a local port workers' union, said, "We're unhappy at the idea of being allowed to work in a port without special safety measures or information when an infected boat is approaching." Some of her colleagues have threatened to block the arrival of the cruise ship if their demands are not met. Nutritionist María de la Luz Sedeño agreed with much of what the demonstrators were demanding. María de la Luz Sedeño cited the fact that the central government had disregarded staunch opposition to the cruise ship's arrival voiced by the president of the Canary Islands region, Fernando Clavijo.

The Socialist-led central government has responded to the accusations of high-handedness and lack of transparency by providing details of the boat's arrival this weekend. The boat will not dock directly in Tenerife but will instead anchor out at sea and its passengers will be ferried to the vast industrial port of Granadilla, in the south-east of the island, well away from residential areas. Soon after their arrival they will be repatriated, or, in the case of the 14 Spaniards aboard, taken to Madrid to be quarantined. According to Virginia Barcones, head of Spain's civil protection agency, authorities insist there will be no contact between passengers and local residents who "will be absolutely and completely protected".