British passengers are now preparing to be flown home to isolate at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral
Passengers are being removed from a cruise ship struck by a hantavirus outbreak this morning, as the MV Hondius has docked in Tenerife.
British nationals aboard are now making preparations to be transported home for isolation at the UK’s original Covid quarantine location. The MV Hondius reached Tenerife on Sunday morning, with Spain commencing evacuations of the vessel organised by nationality.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed British passengers will be relocated to an isolation facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside, following their repatriation to the UK via a chartered flight. Representatives from the UKHSA and Foreign Office were scheduled to meet the MV Hondius upon its arrival in Tenerife, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, with British nationals aboard undergoing hantavirus testing prior to disembarkation.
Should individuals test negative and show no symptoms, they will be transported directly to a chartered repatriation flight staffed by medical professionals and equipped with personal protective equipment including face masks.
In a social media statement on Sunday morning, World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: “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 arrival back in the UK, passengers will be accommodated in a dedicated facility at the Arrowe Park site, separated from the hospital’s main public zones, where they will undergo medical evaluations and screening as a safety precaution. The site previously served as the UK’s initial Covid quarantine site, with blue tarped fences surrounding accommodation blocks being installed on Sunday morning, reports the Irish Mirror.
Emergency authorities across the North West region indicated passengers would remain in the “managed setting” for as long as 72 hours. They confirmed the NHS Trust and hospital continues “operating as normal” with no danger posed to patients, visitors or staff, emphasising that “people should continue to come forward for care as usual”.
After completing their isolation period, public health experts will determine whether individuals can self-isolate at their own residences or at alternative appropriate venues depending on their domestic circumstances. British nationals returning home will remain in self-isolation for 45 days and will be prohibited from using public transport to reach their destinations.
The WHO confirmed on Saturday that no passengers aboard the MV Hondius were displaying symptoms, while the UKHSA maintained the threat to the public “remains very low”. The UN health body reported six confirmed hantavirus infections associated with the MV Hondius, with four patients presently receiving hospital treatment.
The health body confirmed that a total of eight cases, including three fatalities, had been documented – with one previously suspected case being reclassified following a negative hantavirus test. The UKHSA stated that three British citizens are amongst the eight cases – two involving confirmed hantavirus and a third suspected case.
The two confirmed British cases are receiving hospital treatment in South Africa and the Netherlands, while the third British citizen with a suspected case is receiving support on the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha, where they reside.
Six paratroopers, alongside an RAF consultant and Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade, were parachuted onto the South Atlantic island, with oxygen supplies and medical aid also dropped on Tristan da Cunha, which is typically accessible only by sea.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed this marked the first occasion that medical personnel had been parachuted in to provide humanitarian support.
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