Melilla Denies Border Closure With Morocco Over Hantavirus Fears

Marrakech – Spain’s government delegation in Melilla has denied claims that the border crossing with Morocco was shut down over hantavirus fears. Officials called the reports “completely false” and urged residents to rely on official channels for accurate information.

The false claims, circulated through posts impersonating local media outlets, alleged that the Beni-Enzar border post – the only operational crossing in the Spanish enclave – would close “within hours” over the weekend of May 8. The posts also used a fabricated image of the border checkpoint.

From Morocco’s side, the risk remains minimal. Mouad Merabet, Coordinator of the National Public Health Emergency Operations Center at Morocco’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection, said the global public health risk linked to the Andes hantavirus cluster aboard the MV Hondius “remains low.” He added that the national public health risk for Morocco “remains very low.”

The Melilla border scare came amid a widening international response to the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship. The vessel, now anchored off Spain’s Canary Islands, has been at the center of a multinational health emergency since passengers began falling ill after departing Argentina in early April.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed seven cases and two suspected cases worldwide. Three passengers have died. The first victim died before testing could be conducted.

France confirmed its first case on Monday. Health Minister Stéphanie Rist announced that a French woman tested positive after showing symptoms during her repatriation flight. She is now in intensive care at a specialized infectious disease hospital in Paris.

Authorities identified 22 contacts across France, including eight passengers from a flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg and 14 from a Johannesburg-Amsterdam flight.

In the US, one passenger tested positive, and a second showed mild symptoms. All 17 American nationals were flown to a medical facility in Nebraska for clinical assessment. Two traveled in biocontainment units as a precaution.

A British national hospitalized in South Africa is “gradually improving,” according to Johannesburg health officials. Twenty-two passengers, including 20 Britons, were transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital near Liverpool for monitoring and up to 45 days of isolation.

Spain placed 14 of its nationals in quarantine at Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid. All remain asymptomatic. Four German passengers were isolated at Frankfurt University Hospital. Canada repatriated four passengers to British Columbia for self-isolation.

Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said her country took “all necessary measures” to break potential chains of transmission. The remaining 28 passengers were set to disembark on Monday afternoon and fly to the Netherlands.

The MV Hondius was expected to depart for Rotterdam later that evening with a skeleton crew of about 30. The body of a German passenger who died aboard will also be transported to the Netherlands.

Health authorities in Ushuaia, Argentina, rejected any link to their region. Officials there confirmed Tierra del Fuego has no recorded history of hantavirus and lacks the rodent subspecies that transmits the disease.

The Philippines announced it was prepared to implement border screening at airports and seaports. France’s government indicated stocks of masks, PCR tests, and medications were sufficient. UN Secretary-General António Guterres hailed the international coordination.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu signed a decree requiring all former MV Hondius passengers to quarantine for up to 42 days.