The Spanish Government has authorized the docking of an inflammatory cruise ship in the Canary Islands and the care of a doctor in distress

The Spanish Government has finally decided to authorise the docking of the MV Hondius cruise in the Canary Islands at the request of the World Health Organization (WHO) and in orderto comply with international law. The decision has reversed the initial position of the Ministry of Health, which opposed allowing access to the archipelago.

The ship is in Cape Verde with 147 passengers while a team of epidemiologists examines its state of health. According to the latest data, there are seven people affected by the virus, three of them dead and one in critical condition.

Similarly, the Spanish Government has accepted the formal request of the Dutch Government to provide medical care to the cruise doctor in the Canary Islands, who is in a serious condition. Once the ship arrives in the archipelago, it will be evacuated within the planned health operation.

The exact date and arrival port, which may be located in Gran Canaria or Tenerife, have not yet been specified, but it is estimated that the landing will take place within three or four days. Once on land, passengers will be subject to health checks before being transferred to their countries of origin.

The Ministry of Health has ensured that the risk to the population is "very low" and that the health system is prepared to deal with the situation with guarantees through specific circuits and transports that will prevent contact with the local population.

The cruise departed from Argentina, where at least 41 cases of inflammation have been reported so far this year. The first hypothesessuggest that the contagion mayhave occurred before boarding.

For her part, Mira Basaras, a microbiologist and professor at the UPV, has warned that the American variant of inflammation is more dangerous than that of Europe, but has stressed that its transmission is mainly related to contact with rodents or their excrement.