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Hantavirus cruise ship passengers spend first night at Arrowe Park

A chartered Titan Airways flight transported the passengers from the Canary Islands to Manchester Airport before they were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral

[A coach arrives at Arrowe Park Hospital containing passengers quarantining after disembarking from hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius]

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A coach arrives at Arrowe Park Hospital containing passengers quarantining after disembarking from hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Passengers removed from a cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak have spent their first night at a quarantine facility in Arrowe Park following their return from Tenerife. A specially chartered Titan Airways aircraft brought the passengers from the Canary Islands to Manchester Airport on Sunday evening.

20 British passengers, who underwent hantavirus testing prior to boarding the aircraft, were transported to quarantine at the UK's original covid isolation site at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral. One German national, who resides in the UK, and one Japanese passenger from the MV Hondius cruise liner are also under observation at Arrowe Park.

The UK Government accepted the Japanese passenger at Tokyo's request, and they will serve their isolation period in the UK according to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) protocols.

Rigorous infection control procedures were maintained throughout the transfer to Arrowe Park, with passengers, crew, drivers and medical personnel all donning personal protective equipment including face coverings.

The passengers will undergo medical assessments and testing at the quarantine facility within a 72-hour window.

The Arrowe Park facility has six floors of self-contained apartments featuring individual bedrooms, en-suite facilities, kitchens and living areas.

[A coach arrives at Arrowe Park Hospital containing passengers quarantining after disembarking from hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius]

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A coach arrives at Arrowe Park Hospital containing passengers quarantining after disembarking from hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, informed the media that Arrowe Park would conduct "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 chief explained that should any passengers display symptoms, they'll be transferred to Royal Liverpool University Hospital, home to the region's Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit.

Ms Holmes stated that hantavirus is "very different" to covid and poses a "really low" threat to members of the public.

She added: "You've got to have really, really close contact. It's not like covid or flu or those types of viruses."

Throughout the 72-hour stay at Arrowe Park, public health experts will determine whether passengers are suitable to self-isolate at home or elsewhere, depending on their domestic circumstances.

British nationals returning to the UK must remain in self-isolation for 45 days and are prohibited from using public transport to reach their residences.

Throughout their quarantine, passengers will receive daily check-ins from UKHSA health protection teams to monitor their welfare and guarantee they're properly supported during safe isolation.

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.

[The MV Hondius arrives in the Granadilla Port on May 10, 2026 in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, Spain. ]

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The MV Hondius arrives in the Granadilla Port on May 10, 2026 in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, Spain. (Image: Getty Images)

"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."

Writing 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 MV Hondius docked in Tenerife on Sunday morning, where Spanish officials commenced evacuating the cruise liner by nationality, transporting passengers to port via smaller vessels.

While being transported by coach from Granadilla de Abona port to Tenerife South Airport, several British travellers, dressed in blue personal protective equipment, waved and offered thumbs up gestures to assembled journalists.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed its objective was to complete the vessel's evacuation, apart from 30 crew members staying aboard, by 7pm on Monday. Travellers were instructed to leave their luggage on the ship and were permitted only a small bag containing essentials such as their mobile phone and passport.

Spanish health authorities announced on Sunday that 94 individuals from 19 different countries had been evacuated from the cruise liner.

One of five French nationals displayed symptoms while on their repatriation flight, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu confirmed on Sunday.

Writing on X, he stated all five were "immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice" where they will receive medical care and undergo further testing.

American health authorities confirmed that one of the 17 US citizens scheduled to land on an evacuation flight to Nebraska early Monday morning had tested positive for the virus despite being asymptomatic.

"One passenger will be transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while other passengers will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring," said Kayla Thomas, spokesperson for Nebraska Medical Centre.

"The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms."

The 30 crew members and a nurse from the Netherlands, along with the remains of a passenger who passed away on board, will stay on the vessel, which will sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands for disinfection procedures, the WHO confirmed.

The WHO reported on Saturday that six confirmed hantavirus cases had been connected to MV Hondius, with four patients receiving hospital care. The agency confirmed that eight cases had been documented, including three fatalities with one previously suspected case now reclassified following a negative hantavirus test result.

The UK Health Security Agency revealed that three British citizens are amongst the eight cases two have tested positive for hantavirus while another remains under investigation.

The two confirmed British patients are receiving treatment in hospitals in South Africa and the Netherlands, while the third British national with a suspected infection is receiving care on the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha where they live.

Six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and an Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade were deployed via parachute onto the South Atlantic island, with oxygen equipment and medical supplies also airdropped to Tristan da Cunha, which is typically only reachable by sea.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed this marked the first occasion that medical staff had been parachuted in to deliver humanitarian assistance.

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