Hantavirus latest:French and US tourists test positive for deadly virus as evacuated British passengers arrive in UK – UK Times

The final two flights to evacuate passengers from ⁠the cruise ​ship ⁠hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak ⁠docked near Tenerife ​will ⁠depart on Monday afternoon, ‌Spain’s health minister said on Sunday evening, ‌adding 94 passengers ‌had been evacuated so far.

One flight ⁠from Australia will carry six passengers and another from the Netherlands will take 18 passengers, with both flights ‌also taking passengers ​from other countries ‌which ⁠did not send their ⁠own repatriation flights, officials ‌have ​said.

The Australian government said on Monday ​it would repatriate its citizens from a Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly strain of hantavirus, with the passengers to be quarantined after they arrive in the country.

“We have agreed to repatriate a small number of Australians… and also one resident `of another country to Australia for medical treatment,” Environment Minister `Murray Watt told ABC News. He did not give the nationality of the extra person.

It was not known if any of the people being brought ⁠to Australia have fallen ill or were showing symptoms of the virus. The foreign ministry did ​not ⁠immediately respond to a request seeking ‌more details about the evacuation.

Eight people no longer on the MV Hondius have fallen ill, according to a World Health Organisation tally from Friday, of which six are confirmed ‌to have contracted the virus. Three have died, a ‌Dutch couple and a German national.

Spain and France have evacuated their citizens from the MV Hondius, ⁠which has anchored near Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, officials said, with flights to Canada, the Netherlands, Turkey, the UK, Ireland, and the United States slated to have left by Sunday night local time.

A French national aboard the cruise ship that saw an outbreak of hantavirus is has started developing symptoms of the disease.

His symptoms began to show as he was being repatriated to France on a chartered flight from Tenerife to Paris, said the country’s prime minister, Sebastiane Lecornu.

Therefore, all five French nationals who were on MV Hondius have been “immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice”, he announced.

During the isolation period, passengers will have daily contact with UKHSA health protection teams to check 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.”

The 20 British passengers, who were tested for hantavirus before getting on the flight, were taken to isolate at the UK’s initial Covid quarantine site at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside.

One German national, who is a UK resident, and one Japanese passenger from the MV Hondius are also being monitored at Arrowe Park.

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.

British passengers evacuated from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak have arrived at an isolation facility after being repatriated from Tenerife.

A chartered Titan Airways flight transported the passengers from the Canary Islands to Manchester Airport on Sunday evening.

The 20 British passengers, who were tested for hantavirus before getting on the flight, were taken to isolate at the UK’s initial Covid quarantine site at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside.

Emergency services in the North West said they expected the passengers to be housed and provided with clothes at the “managed setting” for up to 72 hours.

The Arrowe Park facility has six storeys of self-contained flats with their own bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, kitchen and lounge facilities.

The Arrowe Park facility has six storeys of self-contained flats with their own bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, kitchen and lounge facilities.

Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, told the media that Arrowe Park would do “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.”

After their isolation, public health specialists will assess whether passengers can isolate at home or at another suitable location based on their living arrangements.