Twenty-two people set to leave hospital after hantavirus isolation

Twenty-two people set to leave hospital after hantavirus isolationJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleOlivia IrelandReutersA drone view of the accommodation blocks at Arrowe Park Hospital where passengers and crew are set to leaveTwenty-two people evacuated from a cruise ship after a hantavirus outbreak are set to start leaving a Liverpool hospital where they have been isolating since returning to the UK.The passengers and crew who were on board the MV Hondius will have spent 72-hours isolating at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside and will be expected to isolate for another 42 days at home.They include 20 British nationals, a German national who is a UK resident and a Japanese passenger.Ten other passengers and crew members are being brought to the UK from British territories in the south Atlantic, Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, as a precaution.The 10 people are being moved because the NHS in England was "well equipped to respond if they become unwell", the UKHSA said.Earlier this week, Prof Robin May, chief scientific officer at UKHSA, said those at the hospital were "healthy and asymptomatic".They have been staying in flats, with food and other essentials provided, alongside ongoing care from UKHSA and NHS teams.Public health and infectious disease specialists will assess whether the individuals are able to self-isolate at home, or whether another location should be arranged. "We want to reassure both passengers and the wider public that robust arrangements are in place, and that everyone involved will be looked after every step of the way," May said.Since the outbreak, three people have died with two confirmed to have had the virus. This included an elderly Dutch man who died before being tested, his wife and a German woman. Director-general of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that while "there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak", work to contain...