British passengers evacuated from a cruise ship struck by a hantavirus outbreak have reached an isolation facility following their repatriation from Tenerife.
Repatriation and Isolation
A chartered Titan Airways aircraft brought the passengers from the Canary Islands to Manchester Airport on Sunday evening. The 20 British passengers, who underwent hantavirus testing prior to boarding the aircraft, were transported to isolate at the UK's original Covid quarantine site at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside. Emergency services in the North West confirmed the passengers would be accommodated and supplied with clothing at the "managed setting" for up to 72 hours.
The Arrowe Park facility features six storeys of self-contained flats equipped with their own bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, kitchen and lounge facilities.
Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, informed the media that Arrowe Park would conduct "welfare checks on each individual". She added: "There's nobody being transferred to us that has been symptomatic in any way. There's no impact on the hospital. Services are running as normal, patients should still attend their appointments."
The hospital boss explained that should passengers develop symptoms, they will be transferred to Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which contains the regional Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit. Ms Holmes stated hantavirus is "very different" to Covid and the risk to the general public is "really low". She added: "You've got to have really, really close contact. It's not like Covid or flu or those types of viruses."
Self-Isolation and Public Health Measures
Following their isolation period, public health experts will determine whether passengers can self-isolate at home or at another appropriate location depending on their living circumstances. Britons travelling back to the UK will remain in self-isolation for 45 days and will be prohibited from using public transport to reach their homes.
In a post on X, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Thank you to all those who worked around the clock to get passengers from MV Hondius back to the UK by special flight this evening with public health protections in place. The UK has worked with Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and the WHO to coordinate safe returns."
Evacuation from the Ship
The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife on Sunday morning, with Spanish officials commencing evacuations of the cruise liner by nationality and transporting passengers to a port via small boat. As they were being transported by bus from the port at Granadilla de Abona to Tenerife South Airport, some British passengers, dressed in blue PPE, waved and gave thumbs up as they passed onlooking media.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated its objective was to complete the vessel's evacuation, apart from 30 crew members staying on board, by 7pm on Monday. Passengers were instructed to leave their luggage on the vessel and were permitted to take only a small bag containing essential items such as their phone and passport. Spain's health ministry announced on Sunday that 94 individuals from 19 different nationalities had been evacuated from the cruise ship.
Other Nationalities
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu revealed on Sunday that one of five French passengers displayed symptoms during their repatriation flight. In a post on X, he confirmed that all five were "immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice" where they will receive medical care and undergo further testing.
The WHO confirmed that 30 crew members and a nurse from the Netherlands, along with the body of a passenger who died on board, would remain on the vessel, which is set to sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands for disinfection.
Confirmed Cases
The WHO stated on Saturday that six confirmed hantavirus cases had been linked to MV Hondius, with four patients currently hospitalised. It further revealed that eight cases in total had been reported, including three fatalities, after one previously suspected case was reclassified following a negative hantavirus test.
The UK Health Security Agency confirmed that three British nationals are among the eight cases — two involving confirmed hantavirus infections and one suspected case. The two confirmed British cases are currently receiving treatment in hospitals in South Africa and the Netherlands respectively, while the third British national with a suspected case is being supported on the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha, where they reside.
Six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and an Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade were dropped by parachute onto the remote South Atlantic island, alongside vital oxygen supplies and medical aid delivered to Tristan da Cunha - a territory ordinarily only reachable by sea. The Ministry of Defence confirmed it marked the first occasion that medical personnel had been parachuted in to deliver humanitarian assistance.
