Wirral Hospital to host Britons being flown back from quarantined cruise ship in Japan

Arrowe Park Hospital will host any British nationals being brought back to the UK from quarantine on a cruise ship in Japan.

There are currently 78 Britons on the ship and the Foreign Office are working to bring them back to the UK "as soon as possible".

They said: "We hope the flight will be later this week, subject to permissions from the Japanese authorities."

Four British people on the cruise ship have tested positive for COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

Passengers have begun to leave the ship in Japan. Credit: AP

In a letter to staff, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Trust said: "Following the successful management of two previous groups of repatriated British citizens, from Wuhan in China, Arrowe Park has been asked to host the Britons from Japan and look after them throughout their quarantine period.

"We are still waiting for final confirmation of how many will be joining us but we wanted you to be aware of the situation as soon as we could."

Kahn Lambert was one of the original people quarantined in Arrowe Park earlier this month.

He has this message for people going into isolation:

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "We can confirm that an accommodation block on the Arrowe Park NHS site will be used to isolate those returning from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

"They will be kept in this location for the 14-day quarantine period, with around-the-clock support from medical staff at all times.

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank NHS and PHE staff who have continued to provide world-class care, as well as the wider Wirral community for their understanding and support.

"There is no risk to the public, and the hospital will continue to run as normal."

Credit: PA

The hospital have said that everyone being brought back from the UK will be assessed before they board the flight and no one showing any symptoms of COVID-19 will be on the flight.

The ship, which some experts have called a perfect virus incubator, has become the site of the most infections outside of China, where the illness named Covid-19 emerged late last year.

As of Tuesday, 542 cases have been identified among the original 3,711 people on the ship.

Angela Eagle, the MP for Wallasey has said that "extra care needs to be taken" in the quarantine of British people being flown over from Japan.