Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands, speaks to the media about the deadly hantavirus outbreak on board luxury cruise ship MV Hondius, which is set to dock at the Canary Island of Tenerife, outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday. | REUTERS

Madrid – The arrival in Spain's Canary Islands this weekend of a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of hantavirus is reviving memories for residents of the quarantines they experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MV Hondius, carrying 150 people, is expected to reach Tenerife on Saturday, where it will dock after Spain agreed to requests from ‌the ‌World Health Organization to receive it despite protests from the local government.

The archipelago was one of the first places in Europe to undergo quarantines during the early days of the pandemic.…