Tenerife begins evacuating cruise ship passengers in hantavirus outbreak

The cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak arrived early Sunday off the Spanish island of Tenerife, where the evacuation of passengers is expected to begin.

Passengers will be tested by Spanish health authorities to ensure they are asymptomatic before being transported ashore in small boats, Spanish officials said, according to Reuters.

Evacuation is expected to begin between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. local time, with Spanish nationals disembarking first, followed by passengers of other nationalities, Reuters reported.

They are then expected to be taken to the island’s main airport and flown back to their home countries. Multiple Americans are believed to be aboard the MV Hondius.

AMERICANS TO BE EVACUATED FROM HANTAVIRUS CRUISE SHIP AS GLOBAL HEALTH CHIEF TRAVELS TO QUARANTINE ISLAND

Fox News Digital previously reported that the U.S. government is planning to transfer American passengers to a military base in Nebraska for quarantine and monitoring.

The ship set course for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the WHO and European Union requested assistance in managing the outbreak.

The ship’s arrival comes hours after World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on the island.

The WHO said Friday that eight people aboard the ship had fallen ill, including three who died. Six cases have been confirmed, with two others suspected.

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In a statement Saturday, Ghebreyesus said the public health risk remains low.

“I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word ‘outbreak’ and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest,” he said.

“The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID-19. The current public health risk from Hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now,” he continued.

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Ghebreyesus noted that the virus identified aboard the ship is the Andes strain of hantavirus, which can be severe.

“Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families,” he wrote, reiterating that the public health risk posed by the virus remained low.

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About 30 crew members are expected to remain on board as the vessel continues to the Netherlands, where it will be disinfected.

Fox News Digital’s Robert McGreevy and Reuters contributed to this report.