The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, assured that at this stage there are no signs of a wider spread of hantavirus, but he did not rule out the emergence of new cases, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"At this stage, there are no signs of the beginning of a wider spread, but the situation, of course, can change and given the long incubation period of the virus, it is possible that new cases may appear in the coming days", Ghebreyesus told reporters in Madrid at a press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
"However, our work is not over", warned the Director-General, quoted by Agence France-Presse. He defended his decision to coordinate the evacuation of the crew of the cruise ship "Hondius" in the Canary Islands.
"The world does not need more selfishness, nor more fear," Ghebreyesus stressed.
"In the last few days, we have heard questions from many members of the public who wondered why the African country of Cape Verde did not allow the evacuation operation to take place on its territory," the director-general said, referring to the head of government of the Canary Islands, an autonomous region of Spain.
"But it was clear to us that this was not the case, the real problem was something else. Why don't we help those who really need help, if we have the means to do so?" Ghebreyesus added.