'Our priority remains to ensure everyone is safe and well supported,' Professor Robin May said on 13 May as the UK response to the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius moved into a new phase. At the centre of that work is Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, where passengers have been assessed, monitored and cared for under strict infection control measures. Plans are now being put in place for some of those who spent the first stage of isolation at Arrowe Park to return home and complete the rest of it there. Public health and clinical specialists have reviewed each passenger’s circumstances one by one, with tailored support promised where home isolation can be done safely.

UKHSA said health protection teams across the UK will keep in daily contact with those leaving the facility throughout the isolation period. Over the next few days, some contacts already isolating will be moved to places where they can safely remain apart from others while still having access to specialist medical care if it is needed. That includes 10 people from the UK Overseas Territories of Saint Helena and Ascension Island who are being brought to the UK as a precaution, not because they are unwell. Officials said none of them are symptomatic, but England’s NHS high consequence infectious disease network is judged the right place to support them should their condition change. A small number of people already isolating at home or elsewhere in England are also due to be assessed at Arrowe Park. UKHSA is continuing to work with public health teams in the devolved nations and overseas territories to trace and support anyone who may have had close contact with cases.

By 11 May, clinical assessments and testing were well underway on the Wirral. The group at Arrowe Park included 20 British nationals, one German national who lives in the UK, and one Japanese passenger. Two British nationals had already travelled on to the United States on flights organised by the US authorities, another was due to return to Australia, and three more British nationals were being treated outside the UK in the Netherlands, Tristan da Cunha and South Africa. Returning British passengers and crew were told to expect up to 45 days of isolation, backed by regular testing and on-site clinical oversight for those on the Wirral, while strict infection control measures remained in place throughout. Robin May said staff at the hospital had again shown 'outstanding dedication and professionalism', with NHS teams keeping regular contact with those on site to check on wellbeing as well as infection control.

The next question for each passenger has been where that isolation can be completed safely. UKHSA and NHS infectious disease specialists are deciding case by case whether people can return to their own homes or whether another suitable location needs to be arranged. Daily contact from health protection teams will continue wherever people are based. That matters on the ground as much as it does on paper. For Wirral readers, Arrowe Park is not a footnote in a national story; it is where much of the real work is being done, with local NHS staff carrying out assessments that shape the next several weeks for every affected passenger. Throughout the official updates, the message from UKHSA has stayed the same: the risk to the general public remains very low.

The transfer to the Wirral began on 10 May after the UK government worked with international partners to bring the remaining British nationals off the ship once it docked in Tenerife. Twenty British nationals, one German national resident in the UK and one Japanese passenger were taken to Arrowe Park for a 72-hour period of clinical checks and testing. The Japanese passenger was repatriated at the request of the Japanese government and will complete isolation in the UK under UKHSA guidance. Officials said infection control was strict from disembarkation to arrival on the Wirral, with passengers, crew, drivers and medical teams using personal protective equipment including face masks. Public Health Minister Sharon Hodgson said the NHS workers at Arrowe Park showed the service 'at its very best', while stressing that none of the passengers were symptomatic and that monitoring at the hospital was precautionary.

The picture had sharpened the day before. On 9 May, the World Health Organization said there were eight cases linked to the outbreak, made up of six confirmed and two suspected cases, although one suspected case was later ruled out by testing. Three British nationals were included in that total at the time: two confirmed cases in hospital, one in South Africa and one in the Netherlands, and a third suspected case on Tristan da Cunha, where the passenger lives and was being supported by the island’s health service. Earlier updates on 8 May and 6 May showed how wide the response had already become. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office chartered a free repatriation flight for British passengers and crew, backed by UKHSA and NHS specialists on board. Officials were also tracing people who had left the ship earlier, including seven British nationals who disembarked at St Helena on 24 April. Two had returned to the UK and were isolating at home, four remained in St Helena, and a seventh had been traced outside the UK.

The outbreak has also drawn in services far beyond mainland Britain. The Ministry of Defence helped get diagnostic supplies, including PCR tests, to Ascension Island on 7 May, while UKHSA worked with devolved public health teams, overseas territories and international authorities to track contacts and keep support in place. For a hospital on the Wirral, that is a sharp reminder that when a global health incident reaches Britain, the response does not begin and end in London. Much of it depends on northern public services doing the job properly. Hantavirus refers to a group of viruses carried by rodents and spread through their droppings and urine. Human infections are rare, and while person-to-person spread has been seen with some strains, it is not the usual pattern. The World Health Organization has been leading the international response and advising on steps to reduce the chance of further spread. UKHSA has also asked the media and the public to respect the privacy of passengers and their families while the operation continues. For now, the official line has not shifted: the public risk remains very low, and Arrowe Park remains central to the response.