CDC teams to meet Americans on hantavirus-stricken ship, sources say, as bad weather threatens landing

By Adam Cancryn, Brenda Goodman, Jennifer Hansler, Deidre McPhillips, Billy Stockwell, CNN

(CNN) — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is dispatching staffers to meet with American passengers on the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship in the Canary Islands, sources told CNN, as Spanish authorities warn of approaching bad weather.

While health authorities across several countries race to contain the outbreak – which has so far led to five confirmed and several possible cases of the virus – concern is shifting to what will happen when the MV Hondius docks in Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands.

The ship is expected to arrive at Tenerife’s port of Granadilla in the early hours of Sunday May, its operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said Friday. The company cautioned that “this is subject to change.”

Passengers will likely need to disembark the ship before Tuesday amid worsening coastal weather conditions, according to a regional official.

Oceanwide Expeditions said “preparations regarding our point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and the onward travel plans for all guests and affected crew are being led by organizations from a number of countries,” including the World Health Organization. No symptomatic individuals are present on board, it added.

CDC staffers will meet the ship when it arrives at the Spanish archipelago, with plans to escort its American passengers back to the US aboard a charter flight, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN. One source said the charter is a specialized aircraft with a biocontainment unit, similar to those used during Covid-19 evacuations.

Once passengers are allowed to leave the boat in the Canary Islands, fourteen Spanish passengers will be transported to a military hospital after being examined, while the other remaining passengers will be repatriated, according to Spain’s health minister, Mónica García.

At the military hospital, passengers will remain in individual rooms, not be allowed visitors and will be given a PCR test upon arrival and another after seven days, Spain’s Ministry of Health said Friday.

“In addition, active monitoring will be carried out, which includes recording their temperature twice a day to promptly detect any compatible symptoms,” the ministry said in a statement.

Worsening weather

Speaking to the challenges ahead of the disembarkation, Manuel Domínguez, vice president of the regional government of the Canary Islands, said “we have been warned that from Tuesday the weather is going to change and it is going to get worse.”

After Tuesday, “both sea conditions and wind will change and will reduce or make it impossible for disembarkation to occur,” he said today after a meeting between the regional government and a delegation from the Netherlands.

Weather conditions are expected to be pleasant in Tenerife this weekend but will worsen early next week with choppier waves and stronger gusts of wind, according to CNN’s Weather Team.

In today’s meeting, the regional government of the Canary Islands also suggested to the Dutch delegation that the ship should continue to the Netherlands after the disembarkation of passengers, with the same crew, Domínguez said.

Domínguez added that disinfection should be carried out in the Netherlands.

CDC team dispatched to Nebraska

Another CDC team has been dispatched to meet returning American passengers in Nebraska, one source said. Passengers are expected to be placed into quarantine there as part of an effort to ensure that the virus does not have a chance to spread, two sources said. Nebraska is home to the National Quarantine Unit, a federally funded quarantine facility, as well as the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit.

“Nebraska Medicine and UNMC remain in close coordination with national partners regarding the evolving situation with the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship,” Nebraska Medicine said in a statement. “We cannot discuss specific communications at this time, but, our specialized teams, including the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit and National Quarantine Unit, are staffed and ready, if needed, to safely provide care while protecting our staff and the community.”

The US State Department is arranging the repatriation flight in coordination with the CDC, US Department of Health and Human Services and government of Spain, a State Department spokesperson confirmed.

The department is “in direct communication with Americans on board and are prepared to provide consular assistance as soon as the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain,” the State Department spokesperson said.

The Trump administration was expected to publicly detail its plan as early as Friday, one of the people familiar with the matter said, though they cautioned the timing remained fluid.

There are an estimated 17 Americans on board the cruise ship, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

President Donald Trump on Thursday indicated that the administration would soon release more information on its work to contain the disease, telling reporters that it is “very much, we hope, under control.”

“It was the ship, and I think we’re going to make a full report about it tomorrow,” he said.

Five states — Arizona, California Georgia, Texas and Virginia — are already monitoring seven passengers who previously disembarked from the ship. Health officials told CNN that none are experiencing symptoms. New Jersey also said it is monitoring two people who were potentially exposed to a person infected with hantavirus after departing MV Hondius. They are not experiencing hantavirus symptoms.

The outbreak was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2 and remains a low risk to the general public, WHO says.

Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – have died since the vessel departed Argentina last month, while others have been evacuated from the ship for medical treatment.

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CNN’s Billy Stockwell, Brandon Miller, Sol Amaya and Vasco Cotovio in Tenerife contributed reporting.