Pedro Sánchez defends the cruise ship operation with hantavirus: “This world does not need more selfishness nor more fear”

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has defended this Tuesday Spain's action in the international operation deployed after the outbreak of hantavirus detected on the ship MV Hondius. During an appearance at La Moncloa alongside the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom, Sánchez assured that the Government acted after receiving “a call for help” from the WHO, the European Union and more than 23 countries.

“Some recommended us to ignore that call, others demanded to answer it and others kept an interested silence”, affirmed Sánchez, who defended that the Executive had clear from the beginning that it should intervene. “The question was: why are we not going to help those who need it if it is in our hands to do so?”, pointed out the president, claiming a response based on international cooperation. “This world does not need more selfishness nor more fear”, he added.

The head of the Executive also highlighted that the disembarkation and repatriation operation of passengers from the MV Hondius “has been a success” and has developed “with zero incidents”. As he explained, more than 120 people of different nationalities were transferred through ten special flights coordinated by the Spanish Government. Close to 400 professionals from different public bodies and ministries participated in the operation.

Sánchez wanted to expressly thank the work of the ministries involved, among them Mónica García, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Ángel Víctor Torres. “Spain delivers; it always delivers first with its own, but also with the rest of the world, whom we help,” affirmed the president, appealing to the “pride of being Spanish” for the response offered in the face of the health emergency.

For his part, the Director-General of the WHO publicly praised Spain's “remarkable leadership” and “collaboration” during the operation. Tedros explained that the organization requested help from the Spanish Government because the health situation “exceeded” the response capacity of Cabo Verde. Furthermore, he highlighted the “kindness and compassion” shown by the Spanish authorities throughout the management of the crisis.

Adhanom also reported that there are currently eleven suspected cases related to the hantavirus outbreak, of which nine have already been confirmed. As he detailed, all cases remain isolated under “strict medical supervision” and, for now, “there is nothing to suggest there will be a larger outbreak.” Tedros also confirmed that practically all passengers who previously disembarked from the MV Hondius have already been located, including a British citizen found on the remote island of Tristán da Cunha.