Captain of rat virus cruise ship breaks silence

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Jan Dobrogowski released a video message saying his thoughts remain with those who had lost their lives after contracting the deadly hantavirus.

Mr Dobrogowski said in the video: “I’ve decided to take this time to thank every single guest and crew member on board here, as well as our colleagues back home. The past few weeks have been extremely challenging to us all.

“What touched me the most, what moved me the most was your patience, your discipline, and also (the) kindness that you showed to each other throughout.”

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He continued: “I’ve witnessed your caring, your unity and quiet strength amongst everybody on board – guests and crew alike – and I must commend my crew for their courage and the selfless resolve they showed time and again in the most difficult moments.

"I cannot imagine sailing through these circumstances with a better group of people – guests and crew alike. Most importantly, our thoughts are with the ones that are no longer with us.

 “Whatever I say will not ease this loss. I’d like you to know they are with us every day, in our hearts and our thoughts.”

 He said he would “ask for privacy and respect to our guests and their families and other crew members at this difficult time”.

 He added that “now, we hope to see everybody safely at home”.

Twenty Britons from a cruise ship hit by the deadly hantavirus continue to isolate at a UK hospital.

All 20 British nationals from the MV Hondius, together with a German who is a UK resident, and a Japanese passenger, were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral on Sunday after the ship docked in Tenerife.

Arrowe Park will house the group for three days in total before they are sent home to continue isolating for a further 42 days. If people cannot go home, they will be placed in other accommodation to see out the isolation period.

Meanwhile, the French government said a French woman evacuated from the cruise ship tested positive for hantavirus, and her health worsened overnight in hospital.

The woman was among five French passengers repatriated to France on Sunday from Tenerife. She developed symptoms on the flight to Paris, officials told the French media.

In the UK, Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the passengers in Arrowe Park would be living as normal a life as possible.

“They’re being accommodated, if they were travelling in a family group, they’re staying in that family group, and they’ll be living as normal a life as they can whilst they’re in hospital,” he said.

“During that time, we’re going to be assessing them quite intensely to make sure that they are virus-free.

“So we’re going to be… PCR testing to look for any possibility of the virus, and also testing their serums, their blood samples. for the presence of any antibodies.”

He said each individual’s circumstances were different and people were being supported to find the best place for them to continue isolating.

He continued: “So we’re assessing on a kind of case-by-case basis whether their home is the best place for them, or perhaps, if they live in a very shared accommodation, it might need to be somewhere else. And we’re discussing that with them.

“It’s going to be a very long period of time. During that period we’ll be supporting very closely with ongoing testing, still checking for virus and antibodies, but also, of course, emotionally, because this is clearly not what any of them would have wished.”

Public health minister Sharon Hodgson said: “I want to thank all those who have worked to bring our British nationals home and the NHS workers now caring for them at Arrowe Park Hospital – their dedication and professionalism show our NHS at its very best.

“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 our stringent monitoring and isolation measures, the risk to the public remains extremely low.”

US officials said on Sunday that an American among the 17 being flown to Nebraska from the ship tested positive for hantavirus, but has no symptoms.

Overall, three people have died linked to the outbreak. One British man with hantavirus is still being cared for in Johannesburg and another is in the Netherlands.

Another British national has hantavirus and is isolating where he lives on the remote South Atlantic Island of Tristan da Cunha.

Over the weekend, six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and an Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade were parachuted on to Tristan da Cunha to help care for him.

Strict infection control measures were in place throughout the journey to Arrowe Park, with passengers, crew, drivers and medical teams all wearing personal protective equipment such as face masks.

The Arrowe Park site 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, said on Sunday that Arrowe Park would carry out “welfare checks on each individual”.

She said if passengers develop symptoms, they will be taken to Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which houses the regional Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit.