Passengers are being evacuated from a cruise ship struck by a hantavirus outbreak, as the MV Hondius docked in Tenerife this morning.
British nationals on board are now preparing to be flown back to the UK, where they will isolate at the country’s original Covid quarantine facility. The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife on Sunday morning, with Spain commencing evacuations of the vessel by nationality.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that British passengers will be transferred to an isolation facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside, following repatriation via a chartered flight. UKHSA and Foreign Office officials were on hand to meet the MV Hondius upon its arrival in Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, where British passengers were tested for hantavirus prior to disembarking.
Those who test negative and show no symptoms will be taken directly to a chartered repatriation flight, staffed by medical professionals and equipped with personal protective equipment including face masks.
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Taking to social media on Sunday morning, World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced: “The disembarkment of the first group of MV Hondius passengers has started. WHO experts on the ground are working with the Spanish Health Ministry on the epidemiological assessment of the passengers and coordinating charter flights with the Interior Ministry.”
Upon arrival back in the UK, passengers will be accommodated in a dedicated block at the Arrowe Park site, situated away from the hospital’s public areas, where they’ll undergo clinical assessments and testing as a precautionary measure. The facility previously served as Britain’s first Covid quarantine location, with blue tarpaulin fencing being installed around accommodation blocks on Sunday morning.
Emergency services across the North West of England indicated that passengers are anticipated to remain in the “managed setting” for a maximum of 72 hours. They emphasised that the NHS Trust and hospital is “operating as normal” with no risk to patients, visitors or staff and “people should continue to come forward for care as usual”.
View 3 Images(Image: Georgia Callaway/MoD/Crown Copyright/PA Wire)
After their period of isolation, public health experts will determine whether passengers can self-isolate at home or another appropriate location depending on their living circumstances. British nationals returning to the UK will remain in self-isolation for 45 days and will be prohibited from using public transport to reach their homes.
The WHO confirmed on Saturday there were no symptomatic passengers on board the MV Hondius, while the UKHSA maintained the risk to the public “remains very low”. The UN health body reported six confirmed hantavirus cases connected to MV Hondius, with four patients currently receiving hospital treatment.
The agency confirmed that eight cases in total have been reported, including three deaths – with one previously suspected case now reclassified following a negative hantavirus test. The UKHSA stated that three British nationals are among the eight cases – two with confirmed hantavirus and one suspected.
The two confirmed British cases are receiving treatment in hospitals in South Africa and the Netherlands, while the third British national with a suspected infection is receiving support on the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha where they reside.
Six paratroopers, along with an RAF consultant and Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade, were parachuted onto the South Atlantic island, while oxygen supplies and medical aid were also dropped on Tristan da Cunha, which is normally only accessible by boat.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed this marked the first occasion medical personnel had been parachuted in to deliver humanitarian assistance.
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