Rat virus cruise ship passengers snapped flouting masks rule on approach to quarantine zone
Several passengers from the MV Hondius, which docked in Tenerife on Sunday, were observed not wearing masks properly during their quarantine in the Canary Islands
An MV Hondius passenger without a properly fitted mask(Image: X/Club Antártico)
Several passengers who got off the rat virus-stricken MV Hondius have already been seen without properly fitted face coverings, just hours after the afflicted vessel arrived in Spain’s Canary Islands. One passenger, thought to be from the Netherlands, was snapped waving to journalists from the rear of a coach after removing his mask.
In another photograph, a different passenger from the ship can be observed with a face covering hanging from his ear, despite everyone else in the surrounding area being fully equipped in PPE.
According to local press, a Spanish healthcare worker from the state-deployed medical support team was seen on Sunday getting off one of the coaches supplied by the military’s emergency response unit, the Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME), before removing his PPE in the middle of a public space.
As locals worry their region could become the centre of another pandemic-era disaster, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was questioned by reporters about the casual attitude towards quarantine protocols, reports the Express.
He seemed unfazed. He responded: “I saw that in the picture [of a maskless passenger] also,” he said. “[The mask] was hanging on his ears. You know, so many of these passengers are elderly, and you can imagine how uncomfortable could be – especially when you have FFP2 masks.” He emphasised the significance of bearing in mind that the bulk of travellers who left the vessel hit by the rodent-borne disease are mainly elderly and already contend with “numerous health complications” that accompany old age, reports the Mirror.
“Many of them are elderly and they have many other chronic conditions. There could be symptoms associated with those. So if there are symptoms, it doesn’t mean that it’s related to hantivirus.”
While WHO representatives didn’t seem overly concerned by the casual approach some took towards mask-wearing, social media users were anything but pleased.
One person remarked: “Tell that to all the essential workers required to wear them for hours upon hours during Covid. Not an excuse.”
Another posted: “Oh ok, but they forced [masks on us] during Covid. No matter what.” A third observed: “[Wearing a mask is] not more uncomfortable than dying.”
In the meantime, within hours of leaving the contaminated cruise liner at Tenerife, another traveller started showing hantavirus signs while being flown back to their homeland of France, the nation’s prime minister confirmed. Sébastien Lecornu disclosed that a French national began showing symptoms on a chartered flight from Tenerife to Paris, leading to all five evacuees from the MV Hondius being “immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice”.
The French citizens are among over 90 holidaymakers flown home from the Dutch ship on Sunday, which moored off the Canary Islands before dawn.
Although official announcements from the Spanish islands confirm that health authorities are taking quarantine and decontamination measures seriously, this has done little to alleviate fears among locals that their homeland could become the epicentre of another pandemic.
Healthcare professional David Hernández confessed to the Independent that he was filled with anxiety upon hearing that the MV Hondius would soon dock in Tenerife.
“I thought, ‘Why us?’ Everyone will be scared by the uncertainty of the situation. This is bringing back flashbacks of the Covid-19 pandemic. We had a terrible time in the hospital then,” the 29 year old intensive care nurse told The Independent.
“I am human, and understand we all could have been on that cruise ship, but there must be some protocols.”
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