Canary Islands demur at plan to allow rat virus ship to dock

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The regional leader of the Canary Islands has opposed plans to allow a luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly virus to dock on the archipelago. Fernando Clavijo, who is a member of the Canarian Coalition, said that Spain had made the decision “not based on any technical criteria”. Three passengers have died in an outbreak of a rare strain of hantavirus, which is carried by rodents and has been known to spread between humans. A seriously ill British doctor has been evacuated from the ship. The Canary Islands are an autonomous community of Spain, whose central government holds authority over exterior health and national security. MV Hondius is expected to reach the archipelago in the next few days. Despite Clavijo’s concerns, the World Health Organization has assessed the risk to the general population to be low.