PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) 鈥� The nearly 150 people aboard off the coast of Cape Verde have been mostly confined to their cabins, according to footage obtained by The Associated Press, after three passengers died and at least four others were left ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak.
The MV Hondius, a Dutch ship on and several isolated islands in the South Atlantic, has been waiting for help after authorities on the island of Cape Verde, off the West African coast, refused to allow passengers to disembark due to public health concerns.
Footage showed the ship’s decks mostly deserted, with only a few people wearing medical masks moving about. Common halls were empty as passengers were isolated in their cabins. At least five people with full protective gear, white overalls, boots and face masks, were seen disembarking from the ship into a small vessel.
The World Health Organization said Monday passengers were asked to stay in their cabins and 鈥渓imit their risk while disinfection and other measures are being taken.鈥�
Evacuation plans remain to be seen
Authorities in Cape Verde sent teams of doctors, surgeons, nurses and laboratory specialists to provide the vessel with medical support.
Officials in Cape Verde鈥檚 capital of Praia, a city of less than 200,000 people, said they have stepped up safety protocols, particularly near the port, as a precautionary measure against the that WHO says may be transmitted between people, though that is rare.
It remains unclear when the sick people on board would be evacuated. The WHO said late Monday they would soon be evacuated to the Netherlands for medical care.
The ship鈥檚 Netherlands-based operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said it would consider moving the vessel to one of the Spanish islands, Tenerife or the port of Las Palmas, if it can鈥檛 evacuate passengers to Cape Verde.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the plan for now is for the ship 鈥渢o continue on to the Canary Islands.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e working with Spanish authorities, who will welcome the ship,鈥� Kerkhove said.
She also stressed there are no other people with symptoms on board and that 鈥渙nce the two sick individuals on board are medically evacuated, then the ship can move.鈥� Earlier, authorities in Cape Verde said three individuals on the ship reported mild symptoms.
However, the Spanish health ministry said in a statement Tuesday it was 鈥渃onducting close monitoring, together with the World Health Organization and other involved countries, of the situation on the ship … (and) the most appropriate port of call will be decided. Until then, the Ministry of Health will not adopt any decision, as we have informed the World Health Organization.鈥�
Meanwhile, Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement late Monday the atmosphere on board 鈥渞emains calm, with passengers generally composed鈥� and that the response plan implemented on board was at the highest level, 3, and includes isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.
The situation is under careful monitoring
The ship left Ushuaia in southern Argentina on April 1, according to Argentine provincial authorities.
Although health officials in Ushuaia have said they confirmed no passengers had hantavirus symptoms when the ship departed, symptoms can appear up to eight weeks after exposure, Juan Facundo Petrina, director of epidemiology for Tierra del Fuego province, told the AP in an interview from Ushuaia.
The WHO said Monday night that, as of then, no new people on the ship had shown symptoms of the virus, but the situation is being 鈥渃arefully monitored鈥� for further developments.
鈥淭he outbreak is being managed through coordinated international response, and includes in-depth investigations, case isolation and care, medical evacuation and laboratory investigations,鈥� the WHO has also said.
Cape Verde鈥檚 National Director of Health Angela Gomes told the state-run Radiotelevisao Caboverdiana radio that authorities are focused on guaranteeing 鈥渢he maximum level of safety鈥� for the local population.
“And for this reason, all assistance is being provided with personal protective equipment, with maximum protection, both to our medical team but also to the entire team that assists the medical team in transporting it to the vessel,鈥� said Gomes.
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