Sociedad

In the midst of the debate about the use of AI, there are situations where it is undeniable that its applications and technology in general represent a step forward in quality of life. A clear example is people with visual disabilities, for whom apps or AI glasses allow a broader perception of the world: they serve to read food product labels or describe specific situations when the blind person is alone and needs help. That is why, from ONCE, which these days celebrates the Social Group Week, technology is claimed as a tool to move closer to equality.

The MV Hondius cruise ship is at the center of a hantavirus outbreak declared between April and May 2026. Of the 147 passengers on board, from 23 different nationalities, 9 cases have been reported —6 confirmed and 3 suspected—, 3 of them fatal. Among those affected are 14 Spaniards: 13 passengers and one crew member.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, addressed the population of Tenerife this Saturday to deliver a message of reassurance regarding the arrival of the cruise ship Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak that has claimed three lives.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has published a letter addressed to the population of Tenerife in which he calls for calm regarding the arrival of the cruise ship MV Hondius, 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 Granadilla industrial port 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 oversee the operation firsthand.

In just 24 hours, Spain faces a complex international operation from the island of Tenerife to evacuate with all health guarantees the occupants of the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak and carrying 14 Spaniards who will be quarantined at the Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid.

A woman, considered the first contact in Catalonia of a fatal victim of the ‘Hondius’ hantavirus, will remain in quarantine at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona for between three and six weeks. She is a resident of Barcelona who coincided for a few minutes, on April 25, on the plane covering the Johannesburg-Amsterdam route with the cruise passenger who ended up dying in the South African capital. She is around 40 years old, sources from the Departament de Salut told this newspaper.

Everything is ready to carry out the repatriation of the passengers of the cruise ship ‘Hondius’ to 23 countries from Tenerife. This was assured by the Ministers of Health, Mónica García, and Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who reported that the ship’s arrival will be between 4 and 6 a.m. tomorrow Sunday (Canary Islands time). The first to be repatriated will be the 14 Spaniards and the WHO representative in Africa, who will also undergo quarantine at the Gómez Ulla hospital in Madrid, as he is considered a contact.

The Spanish Minister of Health, Mónica García, and the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, hold a press conference before the arrival on the island of Tenerife of the cruise ship affected by the hantavirus.

The educational community and a large part of the parliamentary groups of the Parliament of Catalonia are at war over the infiltration of two Mossos d’Esquadra agents in a teachers’ assembly held on Wednesday. Initially, the force, through its X account, limited itself to saying that it works to “guarantee the free right of assembly and demonstration” and that it carries out its functions and responsibilities “always in accordance with current legislation and according to the competencies assigned to it.” Later, from the general directorate of the Catalan police, they issued a statement arguing that the General Commissariat of Information has specific information-gathering functions assigned by law, implicitly acknowledging the presence of the agents at the meeting.

The 147 passengers of the Hondius cruise ship, which is heading to the Canary Islands after a hantavirus outbreak was detected, will disembark next Sunday at sea in groups of no more than five people and by nationality. From the cruise ship, they will transfer to some zodiacs arranged by the shipowner and from there they will head to the dock. Specifically, they will be transferred to a specific area of the port of Granadilla “that meets the highest biological containment measures.” Their luggage will be grouped by nationality and disinfected by the ship’s crew before disembarkation, within the protocol established by Foreign Health. If any passenger shows symptoms before arrival, they will disembark first to be referred to the isolation unit of the Hospital de la Candelaria and their luggage will be managed by the shipping company. They would never reach land. After them, close contacts will disembark grouped by nationalities.