Somewhere off the coast of the Canary Islands, there is a cruise ship in turmoil. In early April, shortly after the MV Hondius set sail from Argentina, hantavirus—a highly fatal disease typically transmitted through rodents—broke out among the roughly 150 passengers and crew on board. Three people have died. Several more have been evacuated from the ship and escorted to the Netherlands for medical treatment. In the coming days, the ship is scheduled to dock in Tenerife, despite protests from the local government.
The images of the evacuations are dystopian. Health workers in hazmat suits approach the ship on a small boat, retrieving patients fitted head to toe in medical gear. The rest remain on board, sheltering in their rooms.
The situation is a living nightmare. And as it continues to make headlines, it’s hard not to think back to the peak of the Covid pandemic, when thousands were stranded on infected ships with nowhere to go. Most famously, in February 2020, the Diamond Princess cruise ship was quarantined for nearly a month off the coast of Japan after more than 700 of its 3,700 passengers contracted the virus.
