- British passengers from the hantavirus-hit MV Hondius cruise ship will be asked to self-isolate for 45 days upon their return to the UK, a measure recommended by Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
- The 45-day isolation period is based on the hantavirus's potential incubation period, which can extend up to eight weeks, although none of the British citizens currently on board are reporting symptoms.
- The Foreign Office is arranging a charter flight to repatriate the remaining 17 British nationals from the ship once it docks in Tenerife, while two Britons who disembarked earlier in St Helena are already voluntarily self-isolating at home.
- British crew member Martin Anstee was among three individuals evacuated from the ship and flown to the Netherlands for specialist medical care after developing symptoms, with his condition reported as stable.
- The outbreak, which has been linked to three deaths, is suspected to have originated from a birdwatching expedition in Argentina where two passengers may have been exposed to rodents carrying the Andean strain of hantavirus, known for potential human-to-human transmission.
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