Six people evacuated from a cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak have left Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral to finish their isolation at home, health officials have confirmed. The passengers from the MV Hondius had been admitted to the Merseyside hospital, previously used as the UK's initial Covid quarantine site, for medical checks by public health and clinical specialists.
After receiving their latest negative test results, the passengers are now permitted to leave the facility to complete their 45-day isolation at home or other suitable accommodation, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Travel arrangements will be managed with public health protections in place at every stage of their journey, and health protection teams will continue to monitor and support them through daily contact.
Twenty-two passengers and crew have been isolating at Arrowe Park, including 20 British nationals, a German national who is a UK resident, and a Japanese national. All have tested negative and remain asymptomatic, the UKHSA said. It has not specified how long the remaining passengers will stay at Arrowe Park.
Ten other Britons linked to the outbreak are being brought to the UK from the British territories of St Helena and Ascension Island in the south Atlantic to complete their isolation as a precautionary measure. A medic on Ascension Island developed symptoms but tested negative for hantavirus; further tests are being carried out to determine whether the symptoms are due to an unrelated illness.
UKHSA chief scientific officer Professor Robin May praised the cooperation of those isolating and highlighted the international effort to contain the outbreak. Eleven hantavirus cases have been reported among people on the cruise so far, including three deaths. Nine of the 11 cases are confirmed, with two more probable cases.
