22 cruise ship evacuees set to leave Liverpool hospital following hantavirus outbreak

Passengers who were onboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship are set to leave a Liverpool hospital and begin self-isolation.

22 British people, alongside one German national who is a UK resident and one Japanese passenger, are now leaving their isolation at Arrowe Park Hospital is Merseyside.

The passengers remained in the hospital for 72 hours, but are currently beginning the transition to a further 42 days of self-isolation at home.

Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) told the BBC, when the passengers arrived in the UK, they were “healthy and asymptomatic.”

Ten other passengers and crew members are being brought to the UK from British territories in the south Atlantic, Saint Helena and Ascension Island’s.

Arrowe Park Hospital, via Google Maps

The decision to use the site had for initial isolation had been “planned, controlled and carefully managed,” according to a group of North West NHS bodies, which include Merseyside Police and Wirral Council.

Matthew Patrick, Labour MP for Wirral West, said medical experts advised the use of the block as it was “ideal for isolating” and is close to specialised facilities in Liverpool.

The Merseyside hospital was last used as an isolation facility at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

The isolation accommodation was built in 2006 with the original purpose of housing medical students training at Arrowe Park. It is close to the A&E entrance at the hospital, but fenced off.

Janelle Holmes, CEO of Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust, which oversees Arrowe Park Hospital, said the former passengers will be screened and continuously assessed when they arrive there.

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They will be housed in self-contained flats with access to phones so they can call friends and relatives but will not be allowed to take public transport when they leave Arrowe Park for a period of self-isolation at home. A specialist team will also be on site to support them.

via Google Maps

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

A joint statement from emergency services in the North West and Wirral Council said the hospital is “operating completely normally” and “visitors and staff should continue to come to the hospital with complete confidence.”

“This is a planned, controlled and carefully managed arrangement. Hantavirus is not spread through everyday social contact and there is no reason for local residents to be concerned,” the statement continued.

Three people have died following the outbreak on the MV Hondius, including two who were confirmed to have hantavirus by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Two British nationals, who are being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa, also have confirmed cases.

A British-US dual national is currently in quarantine in Nebraska, according to Matthew Ferreira of the US Heath and Human Services department.

On Monday evening, the final passengers disembarked the ship, along with some members of the crew.

The cruise is now making its way towards the Netherlands, where the last 26 crew will leave and the boat will be disinfected.

Featured image via RAMON DE LA ROCHA/EPA/Shutterstock