The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday issued an open letter expressing gratitude to the people of Tenerife for what he described as their ‘moral courage’ in agreeing to assist passengers aboard a cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak.
‘On behalf of the World Health Organization, on behalf of the passengers now home, and on behalf of those families around the world who watched this island with hope: thank you. From the depth of my heart, thank you,’ Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (main image) wrote in the message addressed to the island’s residents.
Despite global concern surrounding the rare outbreak of hantavirus — for which there are currently no vaccines or approved treatments — Tenerife authorised the MV Hondius to dock on Sunday, allowing more than 120 passengers and crew to be evacuated and repatriated to their home countries. ALSO READ: Spain defends hantavirus response after new cruise ship infections.
The Hondius had been travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde when the outbreak occurred. According to official figures, three passengers have died, while six others have tested positive for the Andes virus — the only known hantavirus strain capable of human-to-human transmission. Two further suspected cases are also being investigated.
Spain’s central government repeatedly stressed during the operation that there would be no interaction between those evacuated from the vessel and the local population of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands. The evacuation operation was completed on Monday.
The WHO has also maintained throughout that the overall risk to the wider public remained low. ALSO READ: WHO says ‘work not over’ as new hantavirus cases emerge after Spain evacuation.
Tedros described standing at the industrial port of Granadilla on Monday as he watched ‘the last of the passengers from the MV Hondius board the vehicles that would carry them home’.
‘I watched health workers in protective equipment move with calm professionalism. I watched Spanish officials coordinate with quiet precision. And I watched and felt your support and solidarity,’ he wrote in the letter.
He praised what he called a clear ‘logistical success’, noting that ‘the risk assessment held. The protocols worked. The corridor held’.
However, the WHO chief said the response shown by Tenerife went beyond efficiency or planning.
‘It was moral courage, the willingness of an entire island, an entire nation, to say: these are human beings, and we will not turn away from them,’ he said.
Tedros added that the island’s decision to help was particularly significant given the current international climate.
‘We live in a time when it is easy to close doors, to turn inward, to let fear harden into hostility,’ he said. ‘Tenerife chose differently.’
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Querido pueblo de Tenerife:
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 14, 2026
Os saludo desde Ginebra. Os habla nuevamente Tedros.
Nuestro trabajo en Tenerife ha concluido. Y se llevó a cabo con gran honor.
El pasado lunes, estuve en el puerto de Granadilla de Abona y observé cómo los últimos pasajeros del MV Hondius subían a… pic.twitter.com/6qiMm9dD3W
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