Britons on virus-hit cruise ship will be tested before charter flight back to UK
Thirty British passengers and crew are expected to test negative before a medical repatriation flight and 45 days of self-isolation, officials said.
- On Sunday, May 10, 2026, the UK government will repatriate 22 British nationals from the hantavirus-hit MV Hondius cruise ship as it anchors off Tenerife, with a chartered flight transporting asymptomatic, test-negative passengers directly to Britain.
- The outbreak, which has caused three deaths, reportedly originated during an April birdwatching trip in Argentina, with health officials identifying the Andes strain—a rare but dangerous variant associated with fatality rates of up to 40 per cent—as the source.
- Upon arrival at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, passengers will undergo 72-hour clinical assessment and testing, the UK Health Security Agency stated, followed by 45 days of mandatory self-isolation to monitor for delayed symptoms.
- Strict infection control measures will be enforced aboard the chartered flight by medical professionals and infectious disease specialists, while Foreign Office and UKHSA teams remain stationed in Tenerife to support all disembarking travellers.
- Although the World Health Organization and UKHSA maintain the public health risk remains low, officials warn the Andes hantavirus incubation period can extend to six weeks, prompting continued contact tracing to mitigate potential transmission.
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One of repatriated French passengers from hantavirus-hit ship has symptoms, PM says
PARIS, May 10 (Reuters) – One of five French passengers who were on a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak showed symptoms during a repatriation flight on Sunday, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz and Elizabeth Pineau)
After the fatal Hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship "Hondius" evacuated passengers and crew members started their journey home. One of the French passengers is said to have shown symptoms on the return flight to Paris.
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Cruise Ship Hantavirus Scare Triggers Global Evacuation as Passengers Leave Tenerife Under Strict Health Measures
Passengers aboard a luxury cruise ship struck by a rare hantavirus outbreak have begun leaving the vessel in a carefully coordinated international evacuation effort, as ... The post Cruise Ship Hantavirus Scare Triggers Global Evacuation as Passengers Leave Tenerife Under Strict Health Measures first appeared on [your]NEWS.
The epidemic of Hannavirus upsets the cruise of the MV Hondius. Five French were repatriated and placed in quarantine in Paris, while a Greek passenger will be isolated forty-five days in a hospital in Athens.
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