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 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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
