STORY: Argentina's southernmost Tierra del Fuego province has reassured tourists the area is safe to visit, ruling out the region as the source of a deadly outbreak that struck a luxury cruise ship.

Local health authorities confirmed on Friday (May 8) that the Tierra del Fuego province has recorded zero hantavirus cases.

Secretary of Foreign Policy of the Fuegian Institute of Tourism, Juan Manuel Pavlov, stressed on Saturday (May 9) the importance that the announcement has for the tourism hub:

"Tourism is one of the main economic activities of the economy of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, with many jobs that depend on the activity, and this news provides great reassurance to continue projecting cruise activity."

Patients on the luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak could not have been infected in Tierra del Fuego province, said Juan Petrina, director of epidemiology and environmental health for the province, during a news conference on Friday.

Petrina said the conclusion was based on the time frame between the patients' time in the province and the onset of symptoms.

Tourism in Ushuaia has remained unaffected by the scare, with tourists continuing whale watching and enjoying local food

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: USHUAIA, TIERRA DEL FUEGO PROVINCE, ARGENTINA (MAY 9, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF HUMPBACK WHALES IN USHUAIA BAY NEAR BEAGLE CHANNEL

2. HUMPBACK WHALE'S TAIL ENTERING WATER

3. TOURISTS ON BOAT EXCURSION TAKING PHOTOS OF WHALES

4. VARIOUS OF LES ECLAIREURS LIGHTHOUSE LOCATED IN BEAGLE CHANNEL MARKING ISLETS

5. BIRDS, MOSTLY IMPERIAL CORMORANTS, ON ISLET WHERE LIGHTHOUSE STANDS

6. TOURIST TAKING PHOTOS WITH MOBILE PHONE

7. SECRETARY OF FOREIGN POLICY OF THE FUEGIAN INSTITUTE OF TOURISM, JUAN MANUEL PAVLOV, SPEAKING WITH REUTERS

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SECRETARY OF FOREIGN POLICY OF THE FUEGIAN INSTITUTE OF TOURISM, JUAN MANUEL PAVLOV, SAYING:

"From the Government of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, from the very first moment we have tried to convey reassurance regarding the fact that the province does not have active cases within the population (of hantavirus) nor in what is the province itself. From this first moment, the information has always been transmitted to the private sector, which is also an ally for our tourism activity. They, from the tourism chambers, have replicated this message, they have been strategic replicators of messages so that every operator who has made many enquiries in recent times, can be reassured, and with yesterday's news, we can definitely continue projecting forward."

9. VARIOUS OF VIEWS OF CITY FROM THE SEA

10. SHIPS DOCKED AT PORT PIER FROM WHERE CRUISE SHIP MV HONDIUS DEPARTED

11. TOURISTS ON BOAT EXCURSION

12. TOURIST TAKING PHOTOS OF MOUNTAINS WITH SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS

13. MOUNTAIN WITH SNOW-CAPPED PEAK AMONG CLOUDS

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SECRETARY OF FOREIGN POLICY OF THE FUEGIAN INSTITUTE OF TOURISM, JUAN MANUEL PAVLOV, SAYING:

"Tourism is one of the main economic activities of the economy of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, with many jobs that depend on the activity, and this news provides great reassurance to continue projecting cruise activity, with more than 500 port calls per season, being the gateway to Antarctica with more than 95% of Antarctic tourism from the port of Ushuaia, it has fundamental importance from which a chain unfolds, because it not only impacts what is tourism activity, but also has other indirect impacts on other commercial industries of the city."

15. ENTRANCE TO TIERRA DEL FUEGO NATIONAL PARK

16. WELCOME SIGN AT PARK

17. VARIOUS OF STEAM LOCOMOTIVE OF THE TRAIN OF THE END OF THE WORLD

18. SIGN READING (Spanish): "END OF THE WORLD TRAIN" ON STEAM LOCOMOTIVE

19. VARIOUS OF END OF THE WORLD STATION

20. CHEF PREPARING TYPICAL TIERRA DEL FUEGO FOOD

21. CLOSE-UP OF OCTOPUS IN PAN OVER FIRE

22. CLOSE-UP OF SEAFOOD IN PAN OVER FIRE

23. RESTAURANT OWNER, MAURO PEREZ, RECEIVING DINERS

24. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESTAURANT OWNER, MAURO PEREZ, SAYING:

"Well, now that we have confirmation that hantavirus was not here in Ushuaia or in Tierra del Fuego, we insist on the same, on inviting all tourists of the world to come and discover and enjoy such an emblematic place as Ushuaia, with its typical foods such as black hake, king crab, Patagonian lamb. So we are waiting for all of you."

25. TYPICAL DISHES OF USHUAIA

26. CLOSE-UP OF BLACK HAKE

27. CLOSE-UP OF PATAGONIAN KING CRAB

28. CLOSE-UP OF SEAFOOD CASSEROLE

29. TOURISTS TAKING PHOTOS WITH LETTERS READING "USHUAIA"

30. SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS AND WATERS OF BEAGLE CHANNEL