Web desk(National Times)- World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday \u201cour work is not over\u201d to contain hantavirus after evacuations from a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of the illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fate of the MV Hondius sparked international alarm after three passengers died in an outbreak of the rare virus, for which no vaccines or specific treatments exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet health officials stressed that the global public health risk was low and rejected comparisons to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,\u201d Tedros told a joint news conference in Madrid with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut of course the situation could change, and given the long incubation period of the virus, it\u2019s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks,\u201d Tedros said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 120 passengers and crew on the MV Hondius were flown out from Spain\u2019s Canary Islands on Sunday and Monday, and countries adopted different health measures for their returning evacuees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most countries followed the WHO\u2019s guidelines, which include a 42-day quarantine and constant monitoring of high-risk contacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in the United States, Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said American passengers would not necessarily be quarantined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope they (countries) will follow the advice and recommendations we are making,\u201d Tedros said in Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MV Hondius presented diplomatic challenges as different countries negotiated over who would receive it and treat its passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cape Verde refused to receive the ship, which remained anchored offshore the capital Praia as three people were evacuated to Europe by air last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spain allowed the vessel to anchor off the Canary Islands for the evacuation of passengers and crew on Sunday and Monday, but the Atlantic archipelago\u2019s regional government fiercely opposed the measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defending his government\u2019s policy, Sanchez said the \u201cworld does not need more selfishness or more fear. What it needs are countries that show solidarity and want to step forward\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web desk(National Times)- World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday \u201cour work is not over\u201d to contain hantavirus after evacuations from a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of the illness. The fate of the MV Hondius sparked international alarm after three passengers died in an outbreak of the rare […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n