Cooper thanks those who brought Britons home
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.”
Dan Haygarth11 May 2026 01:00
German national and Japanese passenger also to be monitored at Arrowe Park
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.
Dan Haygarth10 May 2026 23:58
Passengers arrive at Arrowe Park
The bus carrying the British passengers and crew being repatriated from the MV Hondius makes its way to Arrowe Park Hospital (Getty)
Dan Haygarth10 May 2026 23:30
Passengers from hantavirus-hit cruise ship arrive at UK isolation facility
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.
Dan Haygarth10 May 2026 23:11
‘There’s nobody being transferred to us that has been symptomatic in any way’
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.
Dan Haygarth10 May 2026 22:07
45 days of self-isolation for Britons
After returning to the UK, passengers will be housed and provided with clothes at an accommodation block on the Arrowe Park site away from the hospital’s public areas to receive clinical assessment and testing as a precautionary measure.
The hospital, used as the UK’s initial Covid quarantine site, had blue covered fences erected around accommodation blocks on Sunday morning.
Emergency services in the North West said they expected the passengers to be kept in the “managed setting” for up to 72 hours.
They added that the NHS trust and hospital is “operating as normal” with no risk to patients, visitors or staff and “people should continue to come forward for care as usual”.
After their isolation, public health specialists will assess whether passengers can isolate at home or at another suitable location based on their living arrangements.
Britons returning to the UK will stay in self-isolation for 45 days and will not be allowed to take public transport to their homes.
Some 30 crew members and a nurse from the Netherlands, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands where it will undergo disinfection, the WHO said.
Dabn Haygarth10 May 2026 21:40
Flight arrives in the UK
A Plane at Manchester Airport carrying passengers that have been repatriated to the UK from cruise ship MV Hondius, which was hit by hantavirus. (Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
The British repatriation flight has landed at Manchester Airport.
It is carrying the 20 British people evacuated from the MV Hondius after the hantavirus outbreak onboard.
All were said to be asymptomatic. They will be taken to Wirral’s Arrowe Park hospital, where they will be kept in a “managed setting” for up to 72 hours.
Dan Haygarth10 May 2026 21:12
What happens now repatriation flight has landed in Manchester?
Saturday’s joint statement from NHS England North West, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB, Merseyside Police, North West Ambulance Service, and Wirral Council
Organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside are working closely with colleagues from the UK Health Security Agency and other government bodies to support the repatriation of passengers from MV Hondius.
In line with advice from the UK Health Security Agency, on arrival they will be taken to a managed setting for clinical assessment and testing. We expect this initial stay to be up to 72 hours.
Following this, public health specialists will assess whether they can isolate at home or at another suitable location, based on their living arrangements.
The risk to the general population remains very low.
Our partner organisations are working together to ensure that all returning passengers are welcomed, comfortable and well supported throughout their stay.
We would like to thank our staff and partners across the NHS, emergency services and local government for their professionalism and dedication in coordinating this response, and we will continue to work closely with the UK Health Security Agency and other partners throughout.
The Trust and hospital is operating as normal. There is no risk to patients, visitors or staff and people should continue to come forward for care as usual.
Dan Haygarth10 May 2026 21:10
Full story: Parachuting on to island in hantavirus response a ‘dream mission’ – paratrooper
Dan Haygarth10 May 2026 20:43
In focus: Hantavirus is giving me Covid flashbacks – so how worried should I be?
The sight of people in hazmat suits alongside phrases like ‘self-isolation’ dominating the airwaves is bringing back troubling memories for Katie Rosseinsky, who considers whether we should all start stocking up on toilet roll.
Nicole Wootton-Cane10 May 2026 20:30