Six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade parachuted (Image: PA)
A specialist Army team and medical personnel have been parachuted on to the British overseas territory Tristan da Cunha with medical aid and equipment as fears over the deadly hantavirus soar.
The UK Health Security Agency confirmed on Friday that a British national disembarked from the virus-infected cruise ship MV Hondius on to the island, where they live, with a suspected case of hantavirus. Six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade parachuted, while oxygen supplies and medical aid was dropped on to the remote island, which is normally only accessible by boat. The RAF A400M transport aircraft flew from RAF Brize Norton to Ascension Island, supported by an RAF Voyager, before heading to Tristan da Cunha. The Ministry of Defence said it was the first time medical personnel had been parachuted in to provide humanitarian support. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the safety of “all members of the British family” is the top priority.
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The MV Hondius cruise ship arrived in Tenerife on Sunday morning (Image: ANP/Shutterstock)
The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife on Sunday morning, and British passengers will be repatriated to isolate at the hospital used as the UK’s initial Covid quarantine site, as the UKHSA said the risk to the public “remains very low”.
UKHSA said passengers will be transferred to an isolation facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside, after being repatriated to the UK on a chartered flight.
Officials from the UKHSA and Foreign Office were due to greet the MV Hondius when it docked in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, with Britons on board tested for hantavirus before they disembark.
If people test negative and are not displaying symptoms, they will be taken straight to a chartered repatriation flight staffed by medical professionals and containing personal protective equipment such as face masks.
After returning to the UK, the passengers will be housed in an accommodation block on the Arrowe Park site away from the hospital’s public areas to receive clinical assessments and testing as a precautionary measure.
The hospital was used to house British citizens returning from Wuhan, China, in January 2020 at the start of the Covid pandemic.
A Civil Guard border police stands guard following the arrival of hantavirus-stricken cruise ship (Image: AP)
The World Health Organisation said on Saturday there were no symptomatic passengers on board the ship.
The UN health agency said there had been six confirmed hantavirus cases linked to MV Hondius and four patients were currently in hospital.
It added that a total of eight cases, including three deaths, had been reported – with one previous suspected case being reclassified after testing negative for hantavirus.
The UKHSA said three British nationals are included in the eight cases – two involve confirmed hantavirus and another one is suspected.
The two confirmed British cases are in hospital in South Africa and the Netherlands, while the third British national in Tristan da Cunha was being supported by health services on the remote South Atlantic island.
Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at UKHSA, said: “We continue to work at pace with our international partners to ensure the safe repatriation of British nationals from the MV Hondius.
“The safety and wellbeing of those on board remains our number one priority. Established infection control measures will be in place at every step of the journey, and passengers will receive full support throughout, including during their period of isolation.”
Supplies are being brought on board the MV Hondius in the port of Granadilla (Image: ANP/Shutterstock)
Janelle Holmes, the chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said in a letter to staff: “We have been asked by NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to house the guests, recognising how quickly and positively we responded to and supported the repatriation of British nationals from Wuhan and the Diamond Princess prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We will be welcoming the guests on Sunday May 10 2026 and they will all be screened for symptoms before they arrive on site; nobody showing any symptoms will be transferred here.
“If anyone becomes unwell after arrival, they will be transferred quickly to another facility.”
Emergency services in the north west of England said they expected the passengers to be kept in a “managed setting” for up to 72 hours.
Public health specialists will then assess whether they 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.
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