A specialist Army team and medical personnel have been parachuted on to the British overseas territory Tristan da Cunha with medical aid and equipment as fears over the deadly hantavirus soar.

The UK Health Security Agency confirmed on Friday that a British national disembarked from the virus-infected cruise ship MV Hondius on to the island, where they live, with a suspected case of hantavirus. Six paratroopers, an RAF consultant and Army nurse from 16 Air Assault Brigade parachuted, while oxygen supplies and medical aid was dropped on to the remote island, which is normally only accessible by boat. The RAF A400M transport aircraft flew from RAF Brize Norton to Ascension Island, supported by an RAF Voyager, before heading to Tristan da Cunha. The Ministry of Defence said it was the first time medical personnel had been parachuted in to provide humanitarian support. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the safety of "all members of the British family" is the top priority.

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The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife on Sunday morning, and British passengers will be repatriated to isolate at the hospital used as the UK’s initialCovidquarantine site, as the UKHSA said the risk to the public “remains very low”.

UKHSA said passengers will be transferred to an isolation facility at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral, Merseyside, after being repatriated to the UK on a chartered flight.

Officials from the UKHSA and Foreign Office were due to greet the MV Hondius when it docked in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, with Britons on board tested for hantavirus before they disembark.

If people test negative and are not displaying symptoms, they will be taken straight to a chartered repatriation flight staffed by medical professionals and containing personal protective equipment such as face masks.

After returning to the UK, the passengers will be housed in an accommodation block on the Arrowe Park site away from the hospital’s public areas to receive clinical assessments and testing as a precautionary measure.

The hospital was used to house British citizens returning from Wuhan, China, in January 2020 at the start of the Covid pandemic.

Source: Daily Express :: World Feed