London, May 8 (IANS) Two British nationals have been confirmed to have contracted hantavirus, with a third suspected of infection, on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday.

None of the British citizens on board the cruise ship MV Hondius is currently reporting symptoms, but they are being closely monitored, said the agency, adding that all British passengers and crew onboard will be asked to isolate for 45 days upon returning to Britain.

British government staff will be on site to support British nationals disembarking when the ship docks in Spain’s Tenerife on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The agency is aware that seven British nationals disembarked the ship at St Helena, a South Atlantic island, on April 24. Two of them have returned to Britain and are isolating at home and have not reported symptoms of infection.

Four of them remain in St Helena, and the seventh has been traced outside Britain.

On Thursday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that five of the eight cases reported on board the cruise ship MV Hondius had been confirmed as hantavirus infections, while the other three were considered suspected cases.

The WHO denied that the deadly hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship was “the start of a COVID pandemic,” saying its risk to the public remained low.

Meanwhile, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has classified the hantavirus outbreak as a “level 3” emergency, the lowest, ABC News reported on Thursday.

This means a low risk to public health, but the situation is being actively monitored by the health agency, said the report.

On Thursday, the WHO said that five of the eight cases reported on board the cruise ship MV Hondius had been confirmed as hantavirus infections, while the other three were considered suspected cases.

The WHO denied that the deadly hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship was “the start of a COVID pandemic,” saying its risk to the public remained low.

–IANS

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