Britons aboard MV Hondius will be repatriated to hospital used for Covid-19 quarantines

Britons on the hantavirus-struck cruise ship will be repatriated to a hotel once used as a quarantine site for the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dutch vessel MV Hondius is expected to arrive to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, where officials from both the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Foreign Office will be on-hand to greet the 22 British passengers and crew who remain onboard.

All passengers will be tested for hantavirus before they disembark, and Britons who do not display any symptoms of the illness will be escorted by UK Government to the airport.

They will then be taken to Arrowe Park Hospital close to the village of Upton, Wirral, in Merseyside, which was notably used as a quarantine site during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

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Infection prevention and control measures, including face masks and personal protective personal equipment, will be taken as passengers are taken to Arrowe Park Hospital.

The passengers will undergo clinical assessments and testing in an isolated facility away from the hospital's public areas.

Public health specialists will assess if passengers from the MV Hondius can isolate at home or another suitable location, and all repatriated Britons will be asked to isolate for up to 45 days.

Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Officer at UKHSA, said: "We continue to work at pace with our international partners to ensure the safe repatriation of British nationals from the MV Hondius.

"The safety and well-being of those on board remains our number one priority. Established infection control measures will be in place at every step of the journey, and passengers will receive full support throughout, including during their period of isolation.

"We recognise that this has been an incredibly difficult and unsettling time for those affected and their loved ones at home. As they prepare for their journey back to the UK, we ask the media to respect the privacy of passengers and their families during what remains a challenging time."

UKHSA will closely monitor all individuals for possible symptoms of the hantavirus.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Saturday there were currently no symptomatic passengers on board the ship.

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Three Britons are among the eight hantavirus cases - six confirmed, two suspected - and two of the cases currently in hospital

Of the two confirmed cases cases, one is in hospital in South Africa, and another in the Netherlands.

The third case - only suspected - disembarked from the ship on Tristan da Cunha - where they live.

They are currently being monitored by the British Overseas Territory's health services.

Emergency services said they expect passengers from the cruise ship to remain in a "managed setting" at Arrowe Park Hospital for up to 72 hours.

A joint statement from NHS England North West, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board, Merseyside Police, North West Ambulance Service, and Wirral Council said: "Organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside are working closely with colleagues from the UK Health Security Agency and other government bodies to support the repatriation of passengers from MV Hondius.

"In line with advice from the UK Health Security Agency, on arrival they will be taken to a managed setting for clinical assessment and testing. We expect this initial stay to be up to 72 hours."

Seeking to ease fears from residents of Tenerife, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus admitted the virus was "serious" but said this was "not another Covid", adding that the current public health risk was low.

He added: "Spain's authorities have prepared a careful, step-by-step plan: passengers will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries.

"You will not encounter them. Your families will not encounter them."

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