The arrival in the Canary Islands in the coming days of the ship where a Hantavirus outbreak occurred has quickly sparked a political battle in Spain. The premier of Spain\u2019s Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, from the Canary Coalition, sparked tension Wednesday morning during a series of interviews with various media outlets. He stated that his government has not received detailed information on how the operation will be carried out and speculated that it might be a highly contagious variant.<\/p>\n
Hantavirus is not particularly contagious<\/a> and is only transmitted between humans through very close contact, such as on a ship. Clavijo, however, speculated that it could be a new, more dangerous strain. This has angered Spain\u2019s central government, which believes Clavijo is being \u201cirresponsible\u201d by stoking fear when everything the executive is doing follows the guidance of the World Health Organization (WHO). It is the WHO that asked Spain to provide a port in the Canary Islands, as it is the closest to the ship after the organization determined that Cape Verde lacks the facilities and preparedness to handle a situation like this.<\/p>\n The government fears that Clavijo is trying to prevent the ship from docking in the Canary Islands \u2014 an action the executive considers unthinkable, given it has a mandate from the WHO, a request from the European Union, and the fact that there are 14 Spanish nationals on board<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWe only have the information we see in the media. I don\u2019t understand why, if there\u2019s no risk to the passengers\u2019 health, the evacuation isn\u2019t being carried out from Praia airport,\u201d complained Clavijo, who has demanded an urgent meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez. <\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez called a meeting at 11:30 a.m. at La Moncloa, the seat of government in Spain, with the relevant ministers \u2014 Health, Interior, Transport, Foreign Affairs, and Territorial Policy \u2014 and has exchanged messages with Clavijo, but no meeting between the two has so far been scheduled. The executive is deeply irritated with the Canary Islands\u2019 premier, believing he is acting irresponsibly and stirring up unnecessary alarm<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amid rising tension between the two governments, the minister for Territorial Policy \u2014 and former Canary Islands premier \u2014 \u00c1ngel V\u00edctor Torres publicly contradicted him. \u201cI myself have spoken several times with Clavijo, and so has the health minister; I was the one who put them in contact. We wanted the ship to continue in transit to the Netherlands, but the WHO has decided it must stop at the nearest EU port, and that communication is binding. The concern is understandable, but epidemiology experts are calling for calm,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n The central government is now determined to manage the ship\u2019s arrival in the Canary Islands, most likely in Tenerife, which has the best hospital facilities to handle the situation. And Clavijo, for his part, seems equally determined to try to stop it. The executive believes that if there were Canary Islanders on board, the premier wouldn\u2019t hesitate to accept the ship \u2014 but the reality is that while there are 14 Spaniards, none are from the archipelago. The political battle is underway, but the government is convinced it will resolve itself: a clear WHO directive like this cannot be ignored, and it is also a matter of humanity. These people are waiting for a solution, and Spain is in a position to offer what Cape Verde cannot.<\/p>\n