Twenty British passengers, evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship due to a hantavirus outbreak, have been repatriated from Tenerife to the UK.
The passengers arrived at Manchester Airport on Sunday evening via a chartered flight and were subsequently taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral for initial isolation.
They will undergo up to 72 hours of isolation at the managed facility, with public health specialists later assessing if they can complete a 45-day self-isolation period at home.
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that no repatriated passengers are symptomatic, and the risk of hantavirus to the general public is considered “really low” due to its requirement for close contact.
The World Health Organisation reported six confirmed hantavirus cases linked to the ship, with three British nationals among the eight total cases, two of whom are hospitalised abroad.
