UK: British citizens evacuated from MV Hondius to undergo quarantine in Wirral.

SHOTLIST: WIRRAL, UK (MAY 10, 2026) 1. VARIOUS OF DRONE SHOTS OF ARROWE PARK HOSPITAL 2. VARIOUS OF NAME BOARD AND EXTERIOR OF ARROWE PARK HOSPITALWIRRAL, UK - MAY 10: British citizens evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship will begin a temporary quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral on Sunday, May 10. According to UK media reports, a total of 19 British passengers and three crew members have been taken to Arrowe Park Hospital. Authorities will monitor the returnees at the Merseyside facility, while British officials said the risk to the wider public remains very low as monitoring and isolation measures continue. The cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak arrived off Spain’s Tenerife Island, where passengers and crew are set to disembark and return to their home countries, media reports said early Sunday. The MV Hondius, carrying 150 passengers and crew members from 23 countries, reached waters near Granadilla Port early Sunday at around 5.30 am local time (0430GMT), with authorities preparing a large-scale medical and evacuation operation, according to EFE News Agency. Health officials said six passengers have confirmed hantavirus infections and two others are suspected cases, with three fatalities reported, including two on board. Passengers, all currently asymptomatic, will be transferred in small groups by boats to shore for medical screening before boarding repatriation flights. Spanish nationals are expected to be among the first evacuated, with some transferred to a military hospital in Madrid for quarantine lasting between one and two weeks, depending on medical evaluations. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified the outbreak as a Level 3 emergency response, the agency’s lowest emergency activation level. The outbreak, involving the Andes strain of hantavirus, has resulted in five confirmed cases, including three deaths, according to World Health Organization (WHO) officials. Scientists confirmed the outbreak was caused by the rare Andes variant of hantavirus, the only known strain capable of human-to-human transmission, usually through close contact. The WHO said two passengers who later died had traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding the ship. CDC officials said passengers will be monitored for about six weeks, reflecting the incubation period of the virus, while health authorities in several US states are also tracking travelers who had already left the vessel before the outbreak was confirmed.