Six from hantavirus cruise ship leave Arrowe Park hospital to isolate at home

Six people who were on the cruise ship linked to an outbreak of hantavirus have left Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral to isolate at home, health officials have said. Passengers from the MV Hondius were taken to the Merseyside facility for checks by specialists. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said public health and clinical specialists have assessed each person’s circumstances, and after their latest negative test they are being allowed to continue their 45-day isolation at home. It said there are “appropriate public health protections in place at every stage of the journey” for those leaving the facility. Health protection teams across the UK will continue to monitor and support everyone after they leave the hospital through daily contact, it added. The MV Hondius arrived off the coast of Tenerife over the weekend. Photograph: Chris McGrath/ The UKHSA said all those at Arrowe Park “remain asymptomatic”. The agency praised the “incredible demonstration of international efforts to contain the outbreak”. The UKHSA said a medic on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic has developed symptoms but has tested negative. Further tests are being carried out to “establish whether this is an unrelated illness”. On Tuesday, it was announced that 10 Britons from South Atlantic islands connected to the cruise ship outbreak are to be brought to the UK in case they develop the illness. …