Hantavirus newest: First British passengers pictured leaving cruise ship being evacuated in Tenerife

In interviews with The Associated Press, two Spanish passengers — speaking on condition of anonymity because of fears they’ll be ostracised once on land — said that despite the outbreak, their days aboard have passed with relative tranquility.

Some people are bird-watching, and others are gathering in common areas to read or attend talks, while wearing masks and social distancing. Both passengers told AP they’re worried about how they’ll be treated in Spain and once home.

“We’re scared by all the news that’s coming out, by how people are going to receive us, by how people see us,” one said. “We’re just normal people. We’ve heard that this is a millionaires’ cruise, and it’s the complete opposite of reality. And we’re scared by this.”

All Spanish evacuees on board a flight to Madrid are asymptomatic, the country’s health ministry has confirmed.

In a post on X, health minister Monica Garcia wrote: “The 14 Spaniards board the plane bound for Gómez Ulla. They have been evacuated in small groups, in UME bubble buses, with disinfection processes and personal protective equipment in every phase of the transfer.

“External Health confirms that all of them are asymptomatic.”

The wider public health threat from the outbreak remained low, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted, adding that the WHO was aware of reports of other patients, with more possible due to the incubation period for the virus.

It comes as passengers disembark the virus-stricken ship to return to their home countries, where many will be asked to isolate.

You can read more about each affected country below:

British passengers and crew arriving from the hantavirus-struck cruise ship will be taken to a hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, for “clinical assessment and testing, health chiefs have confirmed.

They will be held for 72 hours, after which specialists will decide whether they can isolate at home for 45 days or another suitable location.

A joint statement from NHS England North West, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB, Merseyside Police, North West Ambulance Service, and Wirral Council added: “In line with advice from the UK Health Security Agency, on arrival they will be taken to a managed setting for clinical assessment and testing. We expect this initial stay to be up to 72 hours.

“Following this, public health specialists will assess whether they can isolate at home or at another suitable location, based on their living arrangements. The risk to the general population remains very low.

“Our partner organisations are working together to ensure that all returning passengers are welcomed, comfortable and well supported throughout their stay.”

There are currently 22 British citizens – 19 passengers and three crew members – still aboard the vessel, which is expected to dock at Tenerife in the Canary Islands early tomorrow morning.

None of the passengers on the ship are showing symptoms of the virus, the chief of the World Health Organisation said earlier.

There are five confirmed and three suspected cases of the virus, including two people who returned to the UK and a British man in hospital in the Netherlands. Several people who were on board the MV Hondius are isolating,

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that detailed investigations are currently underway into the incident, including extensive laboratory testing and epidemiological studies to understand the virus’s spread. Sequencing of the virus from the current outbreak is also ongoing.

Hantaviruses, which have been present for centuries, has a documented history of outbreaks across Asia and Europe, but it is rare to pass between humans.

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