The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has published a letter addressed to the people of Tenerife in which he calls for calm regarding the arrival of the MV Hondius cruise ship, the vessel carrying nearly 150 passengers from 23 countries after several cases of hantavirus were reported on board, with three deaths. Tedros emphasizes that the public health risk to the island is low, that there are currently no passengers with symptoms, and details the strict measures planned for disembarkation: transfer in sealed vehicles from the industrial port of Granadilla and direct repatriation to the countries of origin, without contact with the local population. The Director-General also defends Spain’s decision to host the ship as “an act of solidarity and moral duty” and announces that he will personally travel to the island to follow the operation firsthand.
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This is the full letter signed by the WHO Director-General
To the people of Tenerife
My name is Tedros, and I serve as the Director-General of the World Health Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for global public health. It is not common for me to write directly to the people of a single community, but today I feel it is not only appropriate but necessary.
I want to speak to you directly, not through press releases or technical reports, but from human to human, because you deserve it.
I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word “outbreak or epidemic” and see a ship approaching your shores, memories arise that none of us have fully overcome. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not minimize it for a moment.
But I need you to listen to me clearly: this is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have stated this unequivocally, and I repeat it now.
The virus on board the MV Hondius is the Andes strain of hantavirus. It is serious. Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families. The risk to you, in your daily life in Tenerife, is low. This is the WHO’s assessment, and we do not make it lightly.
At this moment, there are no passengers with symptoms on board. A WHO expert is on that ship and medical supplies are available. Spanish authorities have prepared a careful and detailed plan: passengers will be transferred ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, away from residential areas, in sealed and guarded vehicles, through a fully cordoned corridor, and repatriated directly to their countries of origin. You will have no contact with them, nor will their families.
I also want to tell you something else, something beyond science.
I personally thanked the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, for Spain’s decision to host this ship. I described it as an act of solidarity and moral duty. Because that is exactly what it is. I want you to know that the WHO’s request to Spain was not arbitrary. It was made in full compliance with the International Health Regulations, the legally binding framework that defines the rights and obligations of countries and the WHO when responding to public health events of international concern. According to those rules, the nearest port with sufficient medical capacity to ensure the safety and dignity of those on board must be identified. Tenerife met that criterion and Spain honored it. Nearly 150 people from 23 countries have been at sea for weeks, some mourning, all scared, all wishing to return home. Tenerife was chosen because it has the medical capacity, infrastructure, and I know the humanity necessary to help them reach a safe place.
And because I deeply believe it, I will be there in person. I intend to travel to Tenerife to observe this operation firsthand, to be alongside healthcare workers, port staff, and officials carrying it out, and to pay my personal tribute to an island that has responded to a difficult situation with dignity, solidarity, and compassion. Your humanity deserves to be witnessed, not just acknowledged from afar.
As I have said many times: viruses do not understand politics nor respect borders. The best immunity we have is solidarity.
Tenerife is demonstrating that solidarity today. The ship’s captain, Jan Dobrogowski, the crew, and the company operating the vessel have shown exemplary cooperation at this very difficult time. On behalf of the World Health Organization, and on behalf of those passengers and their families worldwide, I thank the people of Tenerife and all others involved.
Please take care of yourselves and take care of each other. Trust the preparations that have been made. And know that the WHO is with you, and with every person on that ship, every step of the way.
With respect, affection, and gratitude,
Tedros
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Director-General, World Health Organization
