As of May 8, a total of eight cases, including three deaths, have been reported on the cruise ship MV Hondius, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday. Six cases have been laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus infections, with all identified as Andes virus (ANDV), according to the WHO.

Health authorities worldwide are urgently tracking down dozens of passengers who left the ship before the outbreak was identified, as well as anyone who may have had close contact with them afterward, the BBC reported on Saturday.

The Spanish government has agreed with the WHO that the passengers of the vessel should be allowed to disembark at the island Tenerife of Canary Islands this weekend. However, the news has stirred concerns over the health risk, as a group of Tenerife dock workers gathered outside the parliament building of the Canary Islands in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Friday.

On May 3, the WHO confirmed an outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius. The UN health agency also stressed that "the risk to the general population remains absolutely low" because this strain of hantavirus spreads through "close, intimate contact."