The cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak arrived this morning at the Dutch port of Rotterdam for disinfection, thus putting an end to a journey that alerted international health authorities. On the Hondius are 25 crew members and two medical professionals, after all passengers disembarked on the island of Saint Helena on April 24, and in Tenerife on May 9 and 10. Upon the vessel’s arrival, the occupants could be seen wearing masks on the deck, while the ship was escorted through the port by a tugboat and a Dutch police boat.

The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Minister of Health, Mónica García, will hold a press conference starting at 13:15 at the Moncloa Complex, following the monitoring meeting chaired today by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to address the WHO’s request to the Government of Spain to host the vessel MV Hondius in the Canary Islands, in compliance with international law and the humanitarian spirit.

France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland, northern Italy, the Czech Republic… and, of course, Spain. Europe, especially the western part, is experiencing the first heat wave – although scientifically it may not be classified as such – of the year.