Overview
- WHO on Tuesday reported two lab‑confirmed and five suspected infections linked to the MV Hondius, with three passenger deaths tied to the cluster.
- The dead include a Dutch couple and a German passenger, and labs have confirmed infection in the Dutch woman and in a British traveler now in intensive care in Johannesburg.
- WHO epidemiologists now suspect the virus spread between people in very close contact on board after the first case likely boarded already infected.
- Cape Verde denied the ship permission to dock in Praia, and the operator is preparing evacuations and a possible diversion to Spain’s Canary Islands that Spanish officials say is not yet approved.
- Passengers have been told to stay in their cabins, while investigators trace contacts from a St. Helena–Johannesburg flight and test for the virus type, including an Andes strain known for rare human-to-human spread.