Spanish Navy to escort plague-infected cruise ship to Canary Islands
A cruise ship carrying hantavirus, rejected by Cape Verde, is set to dock in Spain's Canary Islands. We analyze the growing health concerns and political debate.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Sinking the plague cruise ship: between hysteria and real negligence
The 40% mortality rate of bicho makes a cruise ship anchored off the Canary Islands a potential threat, yet the government has authorized disembarkation while Cape Verde rejected it for national security reasons. The dilemma is not new: how much risk is worth a group of tourists at sea?
A ghost neighborhood adrift
The cruise ship, carrying 170 passengers and several bicho cases, has been rejected by Cape Verde and other countries. The Spanish Navy (Armada Española) has received orders to acompañante it to international waters, but instead of sinking it as some members of the public demand, it will proceed to dock in the Canary Islands. The Canarian president has rebelled against Moncloa's (the Spanish government's) decision, arguing that the two million islanders should not bear the risk of a bicho that, in its South American strain, has a 40% fatality rate.
Available data indicates that human-to-human transmission is very difficult, but not impossible. An infected rodent jumping ashore would be enough to start an endemic outbreak on the islands. The experience with ELbichito-19 has left citizens skeptical of the official version: "the same people who locked us down for a bicho with lower lethality are now bringing us the plague," is the common sentiment.
Negligence or strategy: two sides of the coin
Two currents clash in the analysis. One maintains that the government is acting with negligence, trinc international protocols that require assisting the vessel, while the other points to a hidden intention: "ethnic substitution," "distracting the public," or "testing health services." The first is supported by the fact that no country has wanted to receive the ship, and that Spain is becoming a dumping ground for others. The second points out that if the bicho were truly lethal to the elites, the ship would have been sunk in the ocean without hesitation.
"What you shouldn't let disembark is a rat; you don't have to worry about humans," summarizes a pragmatic analysis from Argentina, where bicho is endemic but does not cause massive outbreaks. However, others recall that ELbichito-19 began as "just another flu" and ended with global lockdowns.
Quarantine, the forgotten word
One of the most repeated questions is why a strict quarantine is not applied to the ship, supplying food and medical care without allowing anyone to disembark. The official response is that the situation is controlled and the risk is low, but distrust toward Fernando Simón and the expert committee is almost unanimous. "They said nothing would happen, just like before ELbichito," many ironize.
The question that remains in the air: if the ship does not pose a real risk, why haven't wealthier countries like the UK or Germany evacuated their citizens? And if it does, why does Spain accept what others reject? Meanwhile, the plague cruise ship remains adrift, turned into a symbol of the fragility of health sovereignty.
Related debates in the forum
The 40% mortality rate of bicho makes a cruise ship anchored off the Canary Islands a potential threat, yet the government has authorized disembarkation while Cape Verde rejected it for national security reasons. The dilemma is not new: how much risk is worth a group of tourists at sea?
A ghost neighborhood adrift
The cruise ship, carrying 170 passengers and several bicho cases, has been rejected by Cape Verde and other countries. The Spanish Navy (Armada Española) has received orders to acompañante it to international waters, but instead of sinking it as some members of the public demand, it will proceed to dock in the Canary Islands. The Canarian president has rebelled against Moncloa's (the Spanish government's) decision, arguing that the two million islanders should not bear the risk of a bicho that, in its South American strain, has a 40% fatality rate.
Available data indicates that human-to-human transmission is very difficult, but not impossible. An infected rodent jumping ashore would be enough to start an endemic outbreak on the islands. The experience with ELbichito-19 has left citizens skeptical of the official version: "the same people who locked us down for a bicho with lower lethality are now bringing us the plague," is the common sentiment.
Negligence or strategy: two sides of the coin
Two currents clash in the analysis. One maintains that the government is acting with negligence, trinc international protocols that require assisting the vessel, while the other points to a hidden intention: "ethnic substitution," "distracting the public," or "testing health services." The first is supported by the fact that no country has wanted to receive the ship, and that Spain is becoming a dumping ground for others. The second points out that if the bicho were truly lethal to the elites, the ship would have been sunk in the ocean without hesitation.
"What you shouldn't let disembark is a rat; you don't have to worry about humans," summarizes a pragmatic analysis from Argentina, where bicho is endemic but does not cause massive outbreaks. However, others recall that ELbichito-19 began as "just another flu" and ended with global lockdowns.
Quarantine, the forgotten word
One of the most repeated questions is why a strict quarantine is not applied to the ship, supplying food and medical care without allowing anyone to disembark. The official response is that the situation is controlled and the risk is low, but distrust toward Fernando Simón and the expert committee is almost unanimous. "They said nothing would happen, just like before ELbichito," many ironize.
The question that remains in the air: if the ship does not pose a real risk, why haven't wealthier countries like the UK or Germany evacuated their citizens? And if it does, why does Spain accept what others reject? Meanwhile, the plague cruise ship remains adrift, turned into a symbol of the fragility of health sovereignty.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (103 replies).
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