British passengers from rat virus cruise isolating in quarantine hospital after return from Tenerife
British passengers evacuated from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak are spending their first night at an isolation facility after being repatriated from Tenerife and spending days trapped onboard.
Listen to this article
The chartered Titan Airways flight departed from the Canary Island’s south airport and landed in Manchester on Sunday evening.
Twenty 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.
None of them have symptoms but they will still need be kept in quarantine.
Read more: Trump blasts 'totally unacceptable' Iranian response to US proposal to end war
One German national, who is a UK resident, and one Japanese passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship 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.
Earlier, passengers and crew from the doomed MV Hondius were tested by Spanish health authorities to make sure they remained asymptomatic before they disembarked in Tenerife.
While they were being bussed from the port at Granadilla de Abona to Tenerife South Airport, some British passengers, clad in blue PPE, waved and gave thumbs up as they passed watching media.
23 counties are coordinating to get the holidaymakers home, with the last flight taking a passenger home to Australia tomorrow. There were are 149 people on board, with 22 British.
A letter from the chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said the group “will be welcoming the guests on Sunday 10 May”.
The risk to the general public remains very low, health chiefs insist.
'Unsettling'
Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Officer at the UK Health Security Agency, 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."