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British passengers evacuated from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak have arrived at an isolation facility following their repatriation from Tenerife.

A chartered Titan Airways flight brought the passengers from the Canary Islands to Manchester Airport on Sunday evening. The 20 British passengers, who were tested for hantavirus before boarding the aircraft, were transferred to isolate at the UK's original Covid quarantine site at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside.

Emergency services across the North West confirmed the passengers would be housed and provided with clothing at the "managed setting" for up to 72 hours.

The Arrowe Park facility boasts six storeys of self-contained flats, each fitted with their own bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, kitchen and lounge facilities.

Janelle Holmes, chief executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, told reporters that Arrowe Park would carry out "welfare checks on each individual". She added: "There's nobody being transferred to us that has been symptomatic in any way."

"There's no impact on the hospital. Services are running as normal, patients should still attend their appointments."

The hospital chief explained that should any passengers develop symptoms, they will be moved to Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which houses the regional Tropical and Infectious Diseases Unit.

Ms Holmes stated that hantavirus is "very different" to Covid and the risk to the general public is "really low". She added: "You've got to have really, really close contact. It's not like Covid or flu or those types of viruses."

Once their isolation period has concluded, public health specialists will assess whether passengers are able to self-isolate at home or at a suitable alternative location, depending on their individual living arrangements.

Britons returning to the UK will be required to remain in self-isolation for 45 days and will be banned from using public transport to travel to their homes.

In a post on X, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Thank you to all those who worked around the clock to get passengers from MV Hondius back to the UK by special flight this evening with public health protections in place. The UK has worked with Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and the WHO to coordinate safe returns."

The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife on Sunday morning, with Spanish authorities beginning to evacuate passengers from the cruise ship by nationality, ferrying them to port via small vessel.

As they were transported by coach from the port at Granadilla de Abona to Tenerife South Airport, a number of British passengers, clad in blue PPE, waved and gave thumbs up as they passed waiting members of the press.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed its aim was to complete the evacuation of the vessel, with the exception of 30 crew members remaining on board, by 7pm on Monday.

Passengers were told to leave their luggage aboard the ship and were allowed to take only a small bag containing essentials such as their phone and passport. Spain's health ministry confirmed on Sunday that 94 people from 19 different nationalities had been evacuated from the cruise liner.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu disclosed on Sunday that one of five French passengers showed symptoms during their repatriation flight. In a post on X, he stated that all five were "immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice" where they will receive medical care and undergo additional testing.

The WHO confirmed that 30 crew members and a nurse from the Netherlands, along with the body of a passenger who died aboard, would remain on the ship, which is due to sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands for disinfection.

The WHO announced on Saturday that six confirmed hantavirus cases had been connected to MV Hondius, with four patients presently hospitalised. It also disclosed that eight cases in total had been reported, including three deaths, after one previously suspected case was reclassified following a negative hantavirus test.

The UK Health Security Agency confirmed that three British nationals are amongst the eight cases - two involving confirmed hantavirus infections and one suspected case. The two confirmed British cases are presently undergoing treatment in hospitals in South Africa and the Netherlands respectively, while the third British national with a suspected case is being supported on the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha, where they reside.

Six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and an Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade were deployed by parachute onto the isolated South Atlantic island, together with essential oxygen supplies and medical aid delivered to Tristan da Cunha - a territory normally only accessible by sea.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed it represented the first instance that medical personnel had been parachuted in to provide humanitarian assistance.