1 week ago
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PROTESTS erupted in Tenerife today as furious locals threatened to block the doomed cruise ship ravaged by a deadly rat bug from docking.
Terrified locals said they had “no way to stop” hantavirus if it hit the Canary Islands as they fear a repeat of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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It comes as…
- A third British case is suspected on a remote island
- Rat virus cruise passenger visited a school on infected territory
- The hunt is on for Brit who disembarked with dead passenger
- Brit crew member speaks out from hospital isolation
- Two Brits passengers self-isolating at home in UK
- Investigators think the virus was caught on a bird-watching trip
They marched on the island’s parliament building as a third Briton was struck down with the killer virus.
Furious locals accused officials of putting them at risk by allowing the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius to sail into port.
Tenerife Port Workers union spokesperson Elena Ruiz said: “We are prepared to block the port if we don’t get answers to our concerns.”
Locals are also being urged to block the port’s single-access road with their own vehicles tomorrow.
The port has just one access road from the main coastal motorway, meaning a blockade would cause chaos for the plans.
The ship is expected to arrive in the early hours of Sunday morning after being marooned off the coast of Cape Verde for a week.
The nearly 150 passengers on board, including 21 Britons, will be screened for symptoms before being flown home on specially chartered flights.
But angry port workers in the Canary Islands demanded the ship be ordered to turn around as the number of global hantavirus cases continued to rise.
So far, three people, a married Dutch couple and a German national, have died.
Furious Jonathan Rodriguez, 31, said: “We are angry. I’m not sure that Tenerife is the right option.
“We don’t think the safety of the personnel is being taken into consideration.
“We are not sure that the right protocols are being followed.
“Every time something is needed it takes months to be granted.
“Now in a matter of days their decision is taken that the vessel is going to come to Tenerife.”
He said they feared another outbreak similar to Covid and insisted the situation had not been managed properly.
The protestors blew whistles and air horns and held up signs calling for authorities to change direction.
They chanted: “We want work, not illness.”
Luz Padilla, 61, whose friends and family work at the port, said she was terrified for their health.
She said: “We want security but the government doesn’t give security for the workers in the harbour.
“We’re worried. We’ve not got a good hospital.
“We’ve no way to stop it, something like Covid or another danger.
“It’s a little community.”
The latest Briton with suspected hantavirus fell ill on the island of Tristan da Cunha after being brought ashore by the Hondius last month.
Two more Brits – ship tour guide Martin Anstee, 56, and an unnamed 69-year-old man – are both being treated in hospital for the deadly Andes strain of the virus.
A further seven got off the luxury liner on the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena at the same time.
Two of the seven are self-isolating back in the UK whilst four more remain on St Helena.
The seventh, a dual national, has since been traced outside of the UK.
In Spain, a woman fell ill with suspected hantavirus after boarding the same flight as a patient who died in Johannesburg.
She is in hospital in Alicante, where she remains in isolation.
The latest development brings the total number of positive or suspected cases to 11, with patients being treated in South Africa, Switzerland, France, Spain and the Netherlands.
The UK Health Security Agency said: “Two British nationals have confirmed hantavirus, with an additional suspected case of a British national on Tristan da Cunha.
“None of the British citizens onboard are currently reporting symptoms but they are being closely monitored.
“The ship is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, according to the latest updates from the Spanish Health Ministry.”
Foreign Office teams have been scrambled to meet the 21 British nationals, including two crew, who are still on board the Hondius.
Brit passengers not displaying any symptoms of hantavirus will be escorted to an airport and given free passage back to the UK on a specially chartered flight.
They will be expected to self-isolate for 45 days to contain the disease.
The UKHSA added: “Follow up is already underway for individuals who may have been in contact with cases and have since returned to the UK or are in in UK Overseas Territories.
“The UK government will ensure those self-isolating are given appropriate support.”
It comes after a global race against time to track 30 passengers from at least 12 different countries, including Britain, Germany, Denmark, the US, Singapore, Sweden and Turkey, who left the ship in St Helena on April 24.
Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Officer at UKHSA, said: “This is an evolving situation, and we are working closely with partners to support British Nationals on board the MV Hondius.
“The risk to the general population remains very low and the public can be reassured that established infection control measures will be put in place at every step of the journey to ensure the safe repatriation of British passengers on board.”
The £19,000 Atlantic Odyssey set sail from Argentina on April 1.
But on April 11, the first stricken passenger, a 70-year-old Dutch man, died from hantavirus.
His body remained on board until April 24 when the ship docked in St Helena. The man’s wife accompanied his corpse to Johannesburg but began to fall ill.
Her condition later deteriorated as she prepared to board a KLM flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam.
She boarded briefly but was refused permission to fly and instead taken to hospital in South Africa where she died a day later on April 26.
A German passenger passed away on the ship on May 2.
English (US) · 