UK traces missing passenger after hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship leaves three dead

One Brit is still missing after fleeing the rat virus cruise ship early – while two others are self-isolating in the UK.

A total of seven British nationals disembarked the infected MV Hondius on the remote island of St Helena.

A spokesperson for the UK Health Security Agency told The Sun: “We are aware of seven British Nationals who disembarked the ship at St Helena on April 24.

“Two of these individuals are now self-isolating in the UK while the others have not yet returned.

“Four of these individuals remain in St Helena and we are in touch with the relevant health officials to provide advice on contact management.

“Tracing efforts are ongoing for the seventh individual, who we know has not yet returned to the UK.”

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It comes as a French passenger still onboard the MD Hondius told BFM TV that those left on the cruise ship “do what we want on the boat” with no lockdown measures in place.

She revealed that mask-wearing is mandatory for the remaining passengers but said that they “all eat together at the restaurant”.

The passenger added: “There’s social distancing, but it’s only been in place for three days; we eat seated in a staggered pattern.

“There was a big barbecue on the boat, as if nothing had happened.”

She said: “People are not panicking, but you can feel that it is starting to weigh on you, especially since we don’t know where we are going.”

The WHO’s Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said: “This is not the start of a pandemic.

“We completely understand why these questions are coming but this is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”

She confirmed that there were no new symptomatic cases on the ship since three people were evacuated yesterday, adding: “Morale has improved significantly since the ship started moving.”

Van Kerkhove said that passengers were confined to their cabins.

Five of eight suspected hantavirus cases from the ship have now been confirmed.

Tedros Ghebreyesus said the UK notified the World Health Organisation about a “cluster of passengers” with a respiratory illness on the ship last Saturday.

So far, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths, he said.

Five of these are confirmed cases, while the other three are suspected, the WHO chief says.

Dutch authorities said that around 40 people had disembarked on April 24, but the cruise company later claimed 29 passengers had left the cruise early.

They were from 12 different countries.

Two passengers have been confirmed to be isolating in Singapore as well as one Danish passenger.

Passengers were reportedly not aware that they could be contagious and several travelled across the world on commercial flights.

Fears of global spread are growing – with two Brits in the UK, a Swiss man receiving treatment in Zurich and three people, including a Brit crew member, have been medically evacuated to the Netherlands.

After the first passenger, a Dutch man, died on April 11, his wife disembarked in St Helena and flew to Johannesburg.

A French case of the virus – the first that is not a cruise ship passenger, has been linked to the dead Dutch woman’s flight from St Helena to Johannesburg.

The woman then attempted to board a KLM flight to Amsterdam, but was removed from the aircraft before take off.

KLM said she was refused permission to fly because of her deteriorating medical condition.

The woman then died of hantavirus in a Johannesburg hospital and a KLM air hostess has been hospitalised in Amsterdam with the virus.

The infected air stewardess brings known cases up to nine.

A total of three people – a married Dutch couple and a German national – have already died from the virus.

Around 145 passengers are left on board as the ship sails towards the Canary Islands.

British asymptomatic passengers still on the ship will self isolate for 45 days once they return home, Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suggested.

A Brit crew member with the virus was medically evacuated from the infected ship yesterday.

Martin Anstee, 56, is a former police officer who was working as an expedition leader on the cursed cruise liner.

Doctors said Martin’s condition had improved and he was now “serious but stable”.

Speaking from hospital, he told Sky News: “I’m doing OK. I’m not feeling too bad.”