DON’T OPEN YOUR CABIN DOOR… — Passengers aboard the virus-hit cruise ship say panic spread after a couple reportedly died from the deadly rat-linked infection 
Now officials believe the pair may have caught the disease BEFORE boarding… and one disturbing detail about the ship’s final days at sea is suddenly raising new fears 
Brit rat virus cruise passengers land in UK & are taken to quarantine site as they face 45 days in isolation
BRITS evacuated from the rat virus cruise ship MV Hondius have arrived at a UK hospital for tests – and face a gruelling 45-day home quarantine.
The 20 evacuees were rushed to Arrowe Park Hospital in Birkenhead, Merseyside – after landing at Manchester Airport just hours ago.
The bus carrying the British passengers and crew has arrived at Arrowe Park HospitalCredit: Getty
Cops escorted the coach to the facility in Birkenhead, MerseysideCredit: AFP
Rat virus cruise passengers land in Manchester after being evacuated from the MV HondiusCredit: PA
A British passenger of the cruise ship MV Hondius waves as he sits on a bus on his way to the airportCredit: Simon Jones
The coach carrying the passengers had a police escort enroute to the facility – which was also used to isolate potential Covid-19 cases in 2020.
Brits stranded on the doomed rat virus cruise ship waved and gave a thumbs up earlier today as they were finally freed from the sea.
Following the high-stakes rescue operation, they were screened, taken to shore from the plagued MV Hondius and flown back home.
But fresh fears are growing over how secure or effective the evacuation health screening actually was.
It comes after one French passenger began showing symptoms on their repatriation flight – despite being given the all clear from officials.
All five evacuated passengers have been put into strict isolation as a result, French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu.
All MV Hondius passengers had earlier been described as “asymptomatic” by health officials on the ship.
It comes after a daring mission saw army medics parachute onto a remote island territory where a Brit has been struck down with the virus.
British passengers being evacuated from the MV HondiusCredit: AFP
Two additional Brits living abroad did not fly to ManchesterCredit: PA
The evacuation flight lands in Manchester carrying 20 BritsCredit: Reuters
MV Hondius evacuees waving as they are brought ashoreCredit: Reuters
Medics were strapped to soldiers as they made the drop onto Tristan da Cunha, a remote British territory, in desperate need of medical supplies.
Brits leaving the ship this afternoon cheerily waved and gave a thumbs up from inside a military bus taking them from the port to the airport.
A source said the Brit evacuees were in “good spirits” as the plane took off at around 5.10pm – later landing at around 20.45.
Two additional Brits living abroad did not fly to Manchester.
One will be travelling to Australia tomorrow while the other, a dual national, has flown with the US flight that left for Nebraska.
It has ended more than a week of hell after being trapped on the liner following an outbreak of deadly hantavirus and uncertainty over where it could go.
Public health workers in hazmat suits sailed up to the boat and entered to health screen the passengers.
They answered a questionnaire, taking their temperatures and checking for irregular symptoms like headaches. No testing of the virus was done on board.
It comes as a daring mission airdropped aid the remote British territory of Tristan da Cunha after a suspected caseCredit: AS1 Georgia Callaway, UK MOD © Crown Copyright 2026
UK armed forces dropped into Tristan da Cunha to assist with British national who has suspected case of Hantavirus Medical kit dropped, as well as RAF consultant and Army nurseCredit: UK MOD Crown copyright
How army medics parachuted onto remote island to help suspected Brit rat virus case
By Jerome Starkey, Defence Editor
DAREDEVIL Army medics have parachuted into the world’s most remote inhabited island to treat a suspected case of hantavirus.
Medics were strapped to soldiers from the elite Pathfinders unit in an historic mission on Saturday.
They leapt into Tristan da Cunha – after 10,000km journey from Britain – as medical supplies including oxygen run dangerously low on the island.
A cruise ship crew member with a suspected British case of hantavirus disembarked the MV Hondius on April 14.
The MoD said the jump “was the only method of getting vital care to the patient in time”.
It is thought to be the first operational jump – apart from secret Special Forces missions – since the Suez crisis in 1956.
The volcanic island is some 2800km from the south west coast of Africa and is normally only accessible by boat.
The suspected case of hantavirus on the island is a local who disembarked the MV Hondius during a visit to the island on April 14.
During the visit, passengers of the rat virus ship mixed with locals, cramming into a local pub and even visiting a school.
READ MORE HERE
It comes as…
Hantavirus patient zero revealed as bird watcher
RAF parachutes aid to infected Brit on tiny island
Rat virus cruise passenger visited a school on infected territory
The hunt is on for Brit who disembarked with dead passenger
Brit crew member speaks out from hospital isolation
Two Brits passengers self-isolating at home in UK
Asymptomatic evacuees were allowed off, wearing a blue clinical apron, mask and hat, and put on a military bus.
Relieved Spaniards boarded the first small boats from a side door after passing strict health screening on the MV Hondius, followed by evacuees from around the world.
The Spanish passengers and crew were flown to a hospital in Madrid.
A French plane was the second to take off with five evacuees on board, followed by a Canadian flight and a Dutch flight.
Passengers wore PPE including a blue clinical apron, face lemask and hat, and were put on small boats accompanied by a health worker wearing a full hazmat suit and gas mask.
They were allowed to take one small bag of essential items with them, which was in a sterile plastic bag, as well as a phone and charger.
The rest of their luggage will be sent to the Netherlands, where it will be disinfected and returned to them.
The MV Hondius ship arrived just after 6am in Tenerife, with public health officials in hazmat suits boarding shortly after.
An evacuated British passenger gives the thumbs up as he heads off to the airportCredit: Simon Jones
A passenger waves to the Guardia Civil officers as they are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV HondiusCredit: AP
Passengers watch on as others are disembarked from the rat virus shipCredit: AP
Asymptomatic passengers and crew are being allowed off in groups of five by nationality and taken to planes waiting to repatriate them.
No one remaining on the ship is showing symptoms of hantavirus, nor have any of the evacuated passengers or crew.
The WHO Director General said: “The operation has started and is going very well. We appreciate the cooperation.”
The MV Hondius will refuel in Tenerife, pick up supplies in Santa Cruz, then continue on to Rotterdam, trying to avoid the looming storm.
Three people from the ship have died after getting the bug, and there have been three other confirmed cases.
This includes British crew member Martin Anstee, who is being treated in a Netherlands hospital after being airlifted from the vessel.
Members of the Tenerife Port Workers (TPT) union have rallied against the Spanish government’s decision to allow the Hondius to dock at the port of Granadilla in the island’s south.
TPT union spokesperson Elena Ruiz said: “We are prepared to block the port if we don’t get answers to our concerns.”
Spanish police drone captures evacuation of MV Hondius passengersCredit: Spanish Civil Guard
Passengers being disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV HondiusCredit: AP
Covid-style command posts set up at the Granadilla portCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Masked officials at the port as rat virus ship passengers are evacuatedCredit: Simon Jones
Locals also considered blocking the single access road to the port.
Dozens of police including a riot van patrolled the port and the entrance.
Last night, patient zero was identified as ornithologist Leo Schilperoord, 70, who boarded the ship with his wife Mirjam, 69.
He is believed to have caught the virus from an Argentinian rat after they visited a landfill site on March 27.
The birdwatching hotspot is home to a rare species of Patagonian bird, including the white-bellied seedsnipe.
The couple, from small Netherlands village Haulerwijk, had been on a five-month trip around South America.
Leo was the first patient to die of the virus on board the ship.
The captain announced the horrifying news the next day, but said he believed the passenger died of “natural causes”.
Timeline of rat virus outbreak
by Ed Southgate, News Reporter in Tenerife
April 1 – Dutch-flagged cruise liner MV Hondius leaves Ushuaia in Argentina on 35-day Atlantic Odyssey
April 11 – First passenger, a 70-year-old Dutch man, dies
April 24 – His widow accompanies his body from the British Overseas Territory of St Helena to Johannesburg
April 25 – She boards KLM flight to Amsterdam but is refused permission to fly because of her deteriorating medical condition
April 26 – The 69-year-old woman is taken to hospital but dies
April 27 – British tourist, 69, evacuated from ship between St Helena and Ascension island and flown to Johannesburg where he remains in intensive care
May 2 – A German national dies from the virus on board the stricken vessel
May 3 – The Hondius arrives in Cape Verde but is refused permission to dock because of the outbreak
May 6 – Three people, including 56-year-old tour guide and wildlife photographer Martin Anstee, are evacuated and flown to the Netherlands for urgent medical care as ship sets sail for Canary Islands
May 7 – Frantic race against time launched to trace 29 passengers from at least 12 different countries who left the plague-ravaged cruise ship for all corners of the globe, including seven Brits. They are all later located.
May 8 – Protests erupt in Tenerife as ship prepares to dock – whilst third Brit on remote island of Tristan da Cunha tests positive for the virus.
May 10 – MV Hondius docks in Tenerife as passengers are brought ashore in hazmat suits and hosed down before evacuation flights. UK passengers will now quanrantine for 45 days at a specialist hospital in the Wirral.
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