The head of the World Health Organisation has issued a message to reassure residents of the Spanish island where passengers from a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship are due to be evacuated.

The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, carrying more than 140 passengers and crew, is making its way to Spain's Canary Islands, situated off the West African coast, and is anticipated to dock at Tenerife this morning.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived on Saturday at the island, where he, alongside Spain's Health Minister Monica Garcia and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, planned to oversee the disembarkation of passengers and selected crew members.

"I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word 'outbreak' and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment," Tedros said in a statement addressed to the people of Tenerife.

"But I need you to hear me clearly: This is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now," Tedros added, reports the Mirror.

The WHO, Spanish authorities and cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed that nobody aboard the Hondius is presently displaying symptoms of the virus. Hantavirus can trigger life-threatening illness. It typically spreads when individuals breathe in contaminated particles from rodent droppings and rarely transfers between people. However, the Andes virus identified in the cruise ship outbreak may occasionally transmit between humans in exceptional circumstances. Symptoms generally appear between one and eight weeks following exposure.

Three fatalities have occurred since the outbreak began, with five passengers who disembarked the vessel now infected with hantavirus.

Some Tenerife residents say they don't want the ship there.

Concerns have emerged amongst some Tenerife locals. Aboard the cruise ship, certain Spanish passengers have expressed fears about potential stigmatisation. "I tell you, I don't like this very much," said 69-year-old resident Simon Vidal. "Anyone can say what they want. Why did they have to bring a boat from another country here? Why not anywhere else, why bring it to the Canary Islands?"

Other residents acknowledged sympathy for those aboard while maintaining their apprehension.

"The truth is that it is very worrying," said 27-year-old Venezuelan immigrant Samantha Aguero. She added: "We feel a bit unsafe, we don't feel as there are 100% security measures in place to welcome it. This is a virus after all and we have lived this during the pandemic. But we also need to have empathy."

Passengers can take only limited belongings and will be isolated.

Garcia confirmed passengers and certain crew members would disembark in Tenerife "under maximum safety conditions." The vessel will not come into port but will instead remain anchored offshore, with passengers ferried ashore by smaller boats. All those disembarking will be screened for symptoms and will not be permitted to leave the ship until a flight is already waiting for them in Tenerife, Garcia confirmed at a press conference in Madrid. Those currently on board represent more than 20 different nationalities.

Authorities are working to complete the evacuation flights on Sunday and Monday, the director of the WHO's Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management, Maria Van Kerkove, said in a briefing Saturday.

Both the US and the U.K. have agreed to send planes to evacuate their citizens. Americans are to be quarantined at a medical centre in Nebraska.

All Spanish passengers will be transferred to a medical facility and placed in quarantine, Garcia confirmed. Oceanwide has listed 13 Spanish passengers and one Spanish crew member on board.

Those leaving the ship will be required to leave their luggage behind, Garcia said, and will only be permitted to carry a small bag containing essential items, a mobile phone, charger and personal documentation. A number of crew members, along with the body of a passenger who passed away on board, will remain on the vessel, which will subsequently sail to the Netherlands to undergo a full disinfection process, the minister added.