Hantavirus passengers evacuated in Tenerife as Brits put together to return to UK Covid facility
The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife on Sunday morning with Spain beginning evacuations of the ship by nationality – with UK health officials arriving on board to test Britons for hantavirus before they fly home
A person wearing a mask is seen on the deck of the MV Hondius after docking in the Granadilla Port on May 10(Image: Getty Images)
Evacuations of passengers from a cruise liner struck by a hantavirus outbreak have commenced, with Britons aboard preparing for repatriation to isolate at the UK’s original Covid quarantine facility.
The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife on Sunday morning, with Spain launching evacuations from the vessel organised by nationality. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed British passengers would be transported to an isolation facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside, following their return to the UK via chartered aircraft.
UKHSA and Foreign Office representatives were scheduled to meet the MV Hondius upon its arrival in Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, with Britons aboard undergoing hantavirus testing prior to disembarkation.
Those testing negative and showing no symptoms will be taken directly to a chartered repatriation flight staffed by medical personnel and equipped with personal protective equipment including face masks.
In a social media update 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 their return to the UK, passengers will be accommodated in a separate block on the Arrowe Park site, away from public hospital areas, where they will undergo clinical assessments and tests as a precaution.
The hospital served as the UK’s first Covid quarantine facility, with blue tarpaulin fences being erected around accommodation blocks on Sunday morning. Emergency services in the North West of England anticipate that passengers will remain in this “managed setting” for up to 72 hours.
They reassured that the NHS Trust and hospital are “operating as normal” with no risk posed to patients, visitors or staff, and urged that “people should continue to come forward for care as usual”.
After their isolation period, public health experts will determine whether passengers can self-isolate at home or another suitable location, depending on their living circumstances.
Britons returning to the UK will be required to self-isolate for 45 days and will not be permitted to use public transport to reach their homes.
On Saturday, the WHO announced there were no symptomatic passengers aboard the MV Hondius, while the UKHSA stated the risk to the public “remains very low”. The UN health body reported six confirmed hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius, with four patients currently hospitalised.
It further noted that a total of eight cases, including three fatalities, had been reported – with one previously suspected case being reclassified after testing negative for hantavirus.
The UKHSA has confirmed that three Britons are among the eight cases – two have been diagnosed with hantavirus and another case is suspected.
The two confirmed British cases are hospitalised in South Africa and the Netherlands, while the third Briton, who is suspected of having the virus, is receiving support on the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha where they reside.
Six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and an Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade were parachuted onto the South Atlantic island, along with oxygen supplies and medical aid. Tristan da Cunha is typically only reachable by boat.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated it was the first instance of medical personnel being parachuted in to provide humanitarian assistance.
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