3 evacuated from hantavirus cruise ship as Canary Islands rejects it

World 3 evacuated from hantavirus cruise ship as Canary Islands does about-face, opts not to let it dock there By Frank Andrews Frank Andrews Journalist Frank Andrews is a CBS News journalist based in London. Read Full Bio Frank Andrews May 6, 2026 / 6:50 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Three patients suspected of having the hantavirus have been evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship and are on their way to the Netherlands to receive medical care, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The three are British, German and Dutch, and the British national is a crew member, according to the WHO. The rare outbreak of the virus has already killed three.In the latest twist in the hellish ordeal for the 150 or so passengers on board, the leader of the Canary Islands has rejected a plan for the ship to dock there.The plan, coordinated between the Spanish government and the WHO, had been for the ship to head to the Canary Islands for a "full investigation" and "full inspection"  after the three were evacuated.But the leader of the archipelago's regional government, Fernando Clavijo, rejected the idea Wednesday, saying he has requested a meeting with Spain's socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.  A general view of the cruise ship MV Hondius, while stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 6, 2026. AFP via Getty Images In a social media post Wednesday, Clavijo, who is part of the conservative opposition, wrote: "The Canary Islands always acts with responsibility, but it cannot accept decisions taken behind the backs of the Canary Islands institutions and without sufficient information to the population."A flight planned to evacuate a sick doctor from the ship to the Canary Islands has been cancelled, a source close to the regional presidency told the French news agency AFP on Wednesday.The news comes as South African authorities confirmed Wednesday that they had identified the so-called Andes strain of the hantavirus in two...