Six people returning home from hospital after hantavirus isolation

Six people evacuated from a cruise ship after a hantavirus outbreak are returning home or to suitable accommodation to complete a 45-day isolation period.

They have been isolating in Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral for 72 hours after being removed from the ship, and have tested negative for the virus.

Their onward travel will be managed with public health protections in place "at every stage", the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

A "small number of individuals" who have been isolating at home or elsewhere in England have now also been transferred to Arrowe Park for assessment, a joint statement from health authorities said.

In total, 22 passengers and crew had been isolating at the Merseyside hospital - the rest will remain but are asymptomatic and have tested negative to the virus.

They included 20 British nationals, a German national who is a UK resident and a Japanese passenger.

It was not revealed how long the remaining patients will stay in hospital for.

Health protection teams around the UK will monitor and support the six who have left the facility.

Ten other passengers, crew and people linked to them are being brought to the UK from British territories in the south Atlantic, Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, as a precaution.

They are being moved because the NHS in England was "well equipped to respond if they become unwell", the UKHSA said in an earlier statement.

A medic on Ascension Island has developed symptoms but their samples which were taken to the UK on 8 May tested negative.

Prof Robin May, chief scientific officer at UKHSA, said "testing is under way to confirm the cause of illness for the person displaying symptoms.

"Our teams are working closely with FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] colleagues and leaders on Ascension Island to repatriate British nationals who are currently isolating on the island."

Those isolating in the hospital have been staying in flats, with food and other essentials provided, alongside ongoing care from UKHSA and NHS teams.

Public health and infectious disease specialists will assess whether the individuals are able to self-isolate at home, or whether another location should be arranged.

Meanwhile, a British man in his 60s is isolating in Sacco hospital, Milan, after travelling on a flight to Johannesburg in late April, sitting a few rows from a Dutch woman who later died of the virus.

He has no symptoms and has tested negative for the virus, but will remain in isolation until 6 June as a precaution.

He had visited Rome, Florence and Venice - each for several days - before he was traced and put into quarantine.

Since the outbreak, three people have died with two confirmed to have had the virus. This included an elderly Dutch man who died before being tested, his wife and a German woman.

Director-general of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that while "there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak", work to contain it was not over as "it's possible we might see more cases".

The Dutch MV Hondius had 87 passengers and 60 crew members on board when it docked in Spain's Canary Islands last week, according to the ship's operator Oceanwide Expeditions.

Two British nationals have also returned home on repatriation flights to the US, while another British national is due to return to Australia, the UKHSA said.

Another two British nationals who have been confirmed to have hantavirus are being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa.

Meanwhile, a British man with suspected hantavirus on the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, is in a stable condition and in isolation.

Two more Britons are continuing to voluntarily self-isolate at home in the UK, having disembarked the vessel at St Helena on 24 April alongside dozens of other passengers before the first case of hantavirus was confirmed.

MV Hondius began its journey on 1 April in Ushuaia, Argentina, with about 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries reported to have initially been onboard.

The ship's operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said on Monday that all guests who were still on board when the outbreak was confirmed have now been repatriated to their home countries.

It added that the ship was heading to the Netherlands with 25 crew members and two medical professionals on board, as well as the body of a German passenger who passed away.