Portugal Colonial - Passengers stranded on cruise off Cape Verde following suspected virus deaths

The island nation's denial to disembark came even as WHO Europe said the risk to the wider public remained low.

Passengers from Britain, Spain and the United States, as well as crew from the Philippines, were among the 23 nationalities aboard the MV Hondius, which was carrying 149 people.

Those on board are under "strict precautionary measures", the ship's operator Oceanwide Expeditions said in a statement, including isolation, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.

The company has confirmed three deaths among those on the cruise, which was travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde off the coast of west Africa.

Two died on board and one after disembarking the ship.

One passenger is in intensive care in Johannesburg and two others "require urgent medical care", the company said.

Visibly shaken in what appears to be his cabin, Jake Rosmarin, a passenger who posted regularly about the trip before the health crisis, said that those on board desperately wanted to leave.

"What is happening right now is very real for all of us here", he said on Instagram.

"There is a lot of uncertainty and that's the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home."

Hantavirus, a disease usually transmitted to humans from rodents, has been confirmed in the passenger currently in intensive care in Johannesburg, the operator said.

However, it has not yet been established whether the virus caused the three deaths, it added.

- 'No contact' -

Earlier in the day, Cape Verde's health ministry said "national health authorities decided not to authorise the ship's docking at the Port of Praia".

The decision was meant "to protect the Cape Verdean population", Maria da Luz Lima, head of the National Institute of Public Health, said in a TV interview on Sunday night.

She added that "there would be no contact between the passengers and the country".

Spain's Canary Islands are now under consideration for disembarkation, "where further medical screening and handling could take place", the operator said.

Cape Verde authorities were on Monday waiting for a green light from the Netherlands and Britain for an air ambulance requested by some people on board the ship, the health ministry said.

The first deaths among the passengers were a Dutch couple -- a husband who died on board on April 11 and his wife who died on April 27 after she disembarked the boat in St Helena to accompany his body, the operator said.

On Saturday, a German on board the cruise ship died.

- 'Acting with urgency' -

While Cape Verdean doctors have visited to assess the medical condition of two sick crew members, no permission was given to evacuate them to shore.

Despite the concern, "risk to the wider public remains low", the World Health Organization's director for Europe, Hans Kluge, said in a statement.

"There is no need for panic or travel restrictions," he said.

He added that hantavirus infections were "uncommon and usually linked to exposure to infected rodents".

The WHO said it was "acting with urgency to support the response to the hantavirus event on board a cruise vessel in the Atlantic, following the tragic loss of life".

"WHO Europe is working with the countries involved to support medical care, evacuation, investigations and public health risk assessment."

There has been no confirmation of hantavirus in the two symptomatic people still requiring attention on the ship.

"The exact cause and any possible connection are under investigation," said the ship's operator.

On Sunday, the WHO said one case of hantavirus had been confirmed and that there were "five additional suspected cases".

"While rare, hantavirus may spread between people and can lead to severe respiratory illness," the United Nations health agency said.

"It requires careful patient monitoring, support and response."

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F.Ferraz--PC