The president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has warned from Brussels the Spanish Executive that the Autonomous Community does not have the emergency protocol to treat possible infected people from the cruise ship that will disembark on Spanish coasts and admits that the Hospital de La Candelaria only has one high-requirement bed. "We do not understand the reason for this decision, we ask for loyalty, information, and collaboration".
In this way, the Canary leader has reproached La Moncloa that, for the moment, no contact has been made between the institutions and has stated that the "state of the passengers is not clear, whether there is contagion or not." Clavijo has also criticized that "a decision that affects an Autonomous Community is taken for granted without counting on it," especially —he says— "when we have to say something about it."
Criticism of lack of coordination
“It makes no sense to generate uncertainty. We come from an experience like that of COVID-19, where it became clear that what is important is to offer truthful information and avoid unnecessary alarms,” explained the regional official, who believes that these types of actions, if not taken in a coordinated manner, can lead to a feeling of distrust.
“We thought that, after the meeting, coordination was going to improve. The reasonable thing is for the central Administration to count on us and for us to be able to convey clear information to public opinion,” he lamented at the doors of the European Commission. Of course, the leader of Coalición Canaria has denied having addressed this matter with the Community Vice President, Teresa Ribera, with whom he held a meeting this Wednesday on the sidelines of the health crisis.
In the Canarian Executive they maintain the outstretched hand to the Ministry of Health to hold a meeting in which to know exactly the situation in order to make decisions, something that has not happened until this noon due to "not having all the information". Canarias' position is that, if the passengers are healthy and there is no contagion, "it makes no sense to transfer them to Canarias for repatriation". "They can do it perfectly from the nearest international airport".
Rejection from Tenerife
“Tenerife cannot once again become the territory chosen to assume international crises that other countries do not want to manage,” stated the insular president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, in the same vein, emphasizing that “it is inadmissible that the health security, social tranquility, and assistance capacity of the island are intended to be put at risk”.
For their part, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has communicated that three passengers suspected of hantavirus have already been evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius and are en route to the Netherlands, where they are expected to receive the necessary healthcare. As he explained on the social network ‘X’, this evacuation and transfer operation was carried out with the coordinated participation of the WHO, the ship’s owner company, and the national authorities of Cabo Verde, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Spanish citizens traveling on the luxury cruise ship “MV Hondius”, where a hantavirus outbreak has been detected, belong to six autonomous communities. Specifically, there are five people from Catalonia, three from Madrid, three from Asturias, and one from Castilla y León, another from Galicia, and another from the Valencian Community, according to details provided by the Government Delegation in Asturias.
Spanish passengers and expected arrival
In total, there are 13 Spanish passengers and one crew member who, along with the rest of the ship's occupants, are expected to arrive in the Canary Islands within an estimated timeframe of three to four days. This was communicated this Tuesday by the Ministry of Health, after confirming that Spain gave the green light, at the request of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union, for the ship to call at the Canary Islands in order to organize healthcare for passengers and crew under a strict international protocol.
On the “MV Hondius” travel 149 people of 23 different nationalities, of which 88 are passengers and 61 are part of the crew.