At the Port of Granadilla, in Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain), May 9, 2026. JORGE GUERRERO/AFP
Tenerife is holding its breath. On Sunday, May 10, between 4:00 am and 6:00 am local time, the MV Hondius cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak that affected at least six people, including three who died, is expected to approach the industrial Port of Granadilla in the south of the island. Authorities are preparing a complex logistical operation under a tight weather-dependent schedule and amid concerns from some local residents, who say they were left out of the decision-making process.
The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is expected to arrive in Tenerife on Saturday, to supervise the operation. Before heading to the Canary Islands, he is scheduled to meet with the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, in Madrid. Health Minister Monica Garcia and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska will also travel to the Canaries.
On Saturday morning, there were few signs of the scale of the operation underway. Along the nearly deserted docks of the Port of Granadilla, built amid a vast, windswept industrial zone, a few tents belonging to the port's security service and main journalists were the main visible signs that the ship would arrive soon.
