British passengers and crew from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which has been affected by a hantavirus outbreak, are set to be repatriated to the United Kingdom. Upon arrival, they will be transferred to the isolation facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral. This Merseyside hospital previously served as the nation's initial quarantine site for British citizens returning from Wuhan, China, at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020.
Repatriation Plans
Twenty-two British nationals, including both passengers and crew from the MV Hondius, are expected to arrive in Tenerife, one of Spain's Canary Islands, this Sunday. Upon docking, officials from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Foreign Office will meet the vessel. The Britons on board will undergo testing for hantavirus before they are permitted to disembark. Those who test negative and exhibit no symptoms will then be transported via a dedicated repatriation flight, staffed by medical professionals, back to the UK. The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on Saturday that there were no symptomatic passengers currently aboard the ship.
Quarantine and Isolation Measures
Emergency services in the north west of England have stated that they expect the passengers to be kept in a "managed setting" for up to 72 hours. Public health specialists will then assess whether they can isolate at home or at another suitable location based on their living arrangements. Britons returning to the UK will be required to self-isolate for 45 days and will not be allowed to use public transport to reach their homes.
A joint statement from NHS England North West, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board, Merseyside Police, North West Ambulance Service, and Wirral Council said: "Organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside are working closely with colleagues from the UK Health Security Agency and other government bodies to support the repatriation of passengers from MV Hondius. In line with advice from the UK Health Security Agency, on arrival they will be taken to a managed setting for clinical assessment and testing. We expect this initial stay to be up to 72 hours. Following this, public health specialists will assess whether they can isolate at home or at another suitable location, based on their living arrangements. The risk to the general population remains very low."
WHO Reassures Tenerife Residents
The WHO has reported six confirmed hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius ship, with four patients currently in hospital. A total of eight cases, including three deaths, have been reported, with one suspected case being reclassified after testing negative for hantavirus. The UN agency has sought to reassure "worried" Tenerife residents that they will not encounter passengers from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship set to dock on their island. In a letter addressed to the people of Tenerife, WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged residents' concerns, stating that the virus is "serious" but the outbreak is "not another Covid" and the "current public health risk from hantavirus remains low." He outlined the careful plan: passengers will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries. He emphasised, "You will not encounter them. Your families will not encounter them."
Two British men are currently being treated for hantavirus in the Netherlands and Johannesburg, South Africa, while a third British man with symptoms is being cared for on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha. In total, the Foreign Office confirmed that 30 passengers and crew from the MV Hondius are British, with 22 still on board the vessel. The outbreak has been linked to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina that two of the passengers went on before boarding the ship.
