Valencian oceanographer Aitana Forcén-Vázquez is one of the fourteen Spanish people traveling on the cruise ship where a possible hantavirus outbreak has been declared, which has caused three deaths during its journey through the South Atlantic, according to sources close to her confirmed to EFE.
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Aitana Forcén-Vázquez is an oceanographer with international experience, polar guide, researcher, and scientific advisor, graduated in Marine Sciences from the Catholic University of Valencia (UCV) in 2008 and earned her doctorate in 2015 in Physical Oceanography at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, according to the UCV curriculum.
The Ministry of Health assures that the condition of the people on board will be reviewed before deciding on repatriation processes
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed this Tuesday that the cruise is planned to head to the Canary Islands, and the Spanish Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, has confirmed that Spain will not refuse to assist the vessel because it considers it its humanitarian duty and the hospitals in that archipelago “are prepared.”
“Let us have calm and confidence in our health system. Everything will be done under the guidance of the World Health Organization,” Pestana told reporters this Tuesday.
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Likewise, the Ministry of Health has just reported that a team of epidemiologists will conduct a review of the Dutch cruise ship this afternoon to assess the condition of the 147 people on board and decide on the repatriation processes and the route the ship will take.
The evaluation will be carried out by WHO specialists, who will determine the next steps for the cruise. The Ministry has indicated that no option is ruled out, including the possibility that the ship will finally head to the Canary Islands.
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