British passengers and staff aboard a cruise ship at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak will be brought to a UK hospital site to isolate.
Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, was notably used as the UK's quarantine site at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The MV Hondius is expected to dock in the Canary Islands at 05:30 local time (05:30 BST) on Sunday, with passengers due to start disembarking at 0800, the ship's operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said. The remaining 22 Britons on board are due to fly home on a charter flight soon after.
They will be housed in an accommodation block on the hospital site away from public areas, it has been confirmed.
Officials from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Foreign Office will greet the MV Hondius when it docks, with Britons on board tested for hantavirus before they disembark.
If they test negative and are not displaying symptoms, they will be taken straight to a dedicated repatriation flight staffed by medical professionals.
Five cases of hantavirus have so far been confirmed, including one of the three passengers who have died during a cruise on the Dutch vessel.
Two British men with confirmed cases of the disease are receiving treatment in the Netherlands and South Africa, while a third is being treated for a suspected case on the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, where the ship stopped in mid-April.
A joint statement has been issued by NHS England North West, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board, Merseyside Police, North West Ambulance Service and Wirral Council.
It read: "Organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside are working closely with colleagues from the UKHSA and other government bodies to support the repatriation of passengers from MV Hondius.
"In line with advice from the UKHSA, 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 co-ordinating this response, and we will continue to work closely with the UKHSA and other partners throughout."
The Arrowe Park site was used to house British citizens returning from Wuhan, China, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic six years ago.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) called the outbreak a "serious incident" it stressed the risk to the public was low, making clear that it was not similar to Coronavirus.
It said on Saturday there were currently no symptomatic passengers on board the ship.
Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, wrote in a letter to her colleagues: "We have been asked by NHS England and the 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 [cruise ship].
"We will be welcoming the guests on Sunday 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."
The origin of the outbreak is still unknown.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents such as mice and rats, but experts believe that it may have passed between humans who were in close contact.
Symptoms can include fever, extreme fatigue, stomach pain, vomiting and shortness of breath, usually appearing between two to four weeks of being exposed to the virus.
The UKHSA said the virus was not spread through everyday contact such as walking in public spaces and that in the rare instances where a person has caught it from another person, they have had "close and prolonged" contact.
The incubation period for the disease can vary – it can take anywhere between one and eight weeks for symptoms to appear.
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