British passengers evacuated from the Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius have entered quarantine at a hospital near Liverpool that previously housed the UK's first Covid patients. Some 22 passengers face six weeks of self-isolation after landing in Manchester on a chartered Titan Airways flight from Tenerife, where they finally escaped the ship.
The group includes 20 Britons, one German with UK residency, and one Japanese passenger. They were tested for Hantavirus before boarding and then taken by coach to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside.
Meanwhile, concern about further cases is growing after more passengers have been diagnosed with the disease or its symptoms. One of the 17 Americans evacuated from the ship has tested positive for Hantavirus, and another has developed mild symptoms, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Sunday night. A French passenger also began displaying signs of the virus during a chartered flight from Tenerife to Paris. France's Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said all five French nationals evacuated had been immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice.
The passengers will now spend 72 hours in specialised self-isolation apartments at Arrowe Park while undergoing clinical assessments and testing. After that, health specialists will decide whether they can isolate at home to see out the remainder of the 45-day period or if they will be transferred to another site. Strict infection control measures were in place throughout the journey to the hospital, with passengers, crew, drivers, and medical teams all wearing PPE.
Some of the passengers waved to cameras as they were bussed from the ship to the airport at Granadilla Port in Tenerife, and they could be seen again in facemasks and blue gowns on the coach arriving at the hospital near Liverpool. Arrowe Park has six storeys of self-contained flats with their own bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, kitchen, and lounge facilities, which were used as quarantine accommodation for the first UK patients diagnosed with Covid in January 2020.
Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, told the media that Arrowe Park would carry out 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 leader said if passengers develop symptoms, they will be taken to Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which houses the regional Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit.
Ms Holmes said 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.' Britons returning to the UK will stay in self-isolation for 45 days and will not be allowed to take public transport to their homes. The UK Government took the Japanese passenger at the request of the Tokyo government, and they will complete their isolation in the UK in line with UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) guidance.
During their isolation period, passengers will have daily contact with UKHSA health protection teams to check on their wellbeing and ensure they are supported to isolate safely. Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the agency, said: 'We are pleased to confirm that all British nationals onboard the MV Hondius have now safely returned to the UK and are being supported by UKHSA and NHS medical experts at Arrowe Park, who have worked at pace to prepare for the safe arrival of passengers at the facility. Staff at Arrowe Park have once again demonstrated their commitment and professionalism in responding rapidly to a health emergency, and we are very grateful. The risk remains very low for members of the general public.'
Public health minister Sharon Hodgson said: 'None of the passengers are symptomatic but we will monitor them closely over the next 72 hours at the hospital, as part of a precautionary isolation period. With no cases or symptoms among them and both our stringent monitoring and isolation measures, the risk to the public remains extremely low.' 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.'
Some 17 Americans and one Briton arrived in the US after being evacuated from the cruise ship, with the two passengers with symptoms traveling in the plane's biocontainment units. One case has been confirmed as Hantavirus, while the second symptomatic passenger has not received an official diagnosis. The aircraft was due to arrive in Omaha, Nebraska, early Monday.
The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife on Sunday morning, with Spanish authorities beginning evacuations by nationality and ferrying passengers to port by small boat. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said its goal was to finish the ship's evacuation, apart from 30 crew members remaining on board, by 7pm on Monday. Passengers were told to leave their luggage on the ship and were only allowed to take a small bag with essential items such as their phone and passport. The Spanish health ministry said on Sunday that 94 people of 19 nationalities had been taken off the cruise ship.
One of five French passengers showed symptoms during their repatriation flight, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Sunday. In a post on X, he said all five were 'immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice' where they will receive medical care and undergo further testing. US health officials confirmed one of the 17 Americans due to arrive on an evacuation flight to Nebraska early on Monday had tested positive for the virus without showing symptoms. 'One passenger will be transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while other passengers will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring,' Nebraska Medical Centre spokesperson Kayla Thomas said. 'The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms.'
The 30 crew members and a nurse from the Netherlands, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands where it will undergo disinfection, the WHO said. The WHO said on Saturday there had been six confirmed hantavirus cases linked to MV Hondius and four patients were in hospital. It added that eight cases, including three deaths, had been reported – with one previous suspected case being reclassified after testing negative for hantavirus.
The UK Health Security Agency said three British nationals are included in the eight cases – two involve confirmed hantavirus and another is suspected. The two confirmed British cases are in hospital in South Africa and the Netherlands, while the third British national with a suspected case is being supported on the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha where they live. Six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and an Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade were parachuted on to 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 said it was the first time medical personnel had been parachuted in to provide humanitarian support.
