One of the 17 American passengers evacuated from the Hondius cruise ship in the Canary Islands has tested positive for coronavirus, although he is not showing symptoms, US health authorities announced.
Passengers were evacuated after the ship docked in Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago off the west coast of Africa. A charter flight carrying the 17 Americans was scheduled to arrive in Omaha, Nebraska, where authorities would conduct quarantine and health evaluation procedures.
According to Kayla Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Medical Center, the passenger who tested positive will be sent to the Nebraska Biological Isolation Unit, while the rest will be transferred to the National Quarantine Unit for monitoring.
"The passenger tested positive for the virus, but is not showing symptoms," she stated.
The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife on Sunday morning, as Spanish authorities began evacuating passengers by nationality, transporting them in small boats to the port.
The World Health Organization announced that most passengers and crew had successfully disembarked the ship, while about 30 crew members remained on board.
