Soldiers dropped oxygen supplies and medical aid to Britain’s most remote overseas territory

• What is hantavirus?

Paratroopers landed on a “golf course covered in rocks” to supply medical personnel and oxygen to Britain’s most remote overseas territory as it deals with a suspected hantavirus case, an army commander has said.

The UK Health Security Agency confirmed on Friday that a British national had disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius to the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, where they live, with a suspected case of hantavirus.

Spain has begun the evacuation of the first passengers from the MV Hondius ship which arrived in Tenerife on Sunday

• Passengers begin evacuating cruise ship hit by hantavirus

In other news, there are reports of Russian attacks continuing on Ukraine despite a ceasefire that was meant to run from Saturday 9 May to Monday 11 May.

There are reports of people being injured by Russian strikes in areas including the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions.

Thirty years after first person-to-person transmission was documented in Patagonia, scientists say global heating could increase world’s exposure

An outbreak in rural communities 30 years ago in the Patagonia area of Argentina led scientists, for the first time, to document person-to-person transmission of hantavirus, which until then had been known only to spread through contact with rodents.

Nearly a decade ago another outbreak, also in Patagonia, provided detailed evidence of inter-human transmission when an infected 68-year-old rural worker attended a birthday party in a small village. The infection spread and resulted in 11 deaths.

SINGAPORE, May 9 — Two Singapore residents who recently boarded the cruise ship MV Hondius tested negative for hantavirus, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said.

In a statement, it said the National Public Health Laboratory conducted tests on multiple samples collected from the individuals and confirmed that hantavirus, including the Andes virus, was not detected.

“As a precaution, the two individuals will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure, and testing will be conducted again before release from quarantine.

“They will then undergo phone surveillance for the remaining monitoring period of 45 days from the date of last exposure, which is the maximum incubation period for hantavirus exposure,” CDA said yesterday. 

According to the agency, the risk of hantavirus transmission to the general public in Singapore remains low.

“CDA is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to enhance public health measures should new information indicate an increased public health risk to Singapore,” it added.

On Thursday, the CDA said two male individuals – a Singaporean aged 67 and a permanent resident aged 65 – were being isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) for hantavirus testing. — Bernama

US CDC personnel are reportedly meeting ship in Canary Islands to accompany Americans on a flight to Nebraska

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly sending personnel to the Canary Islands to meet the cruise ship affected by the hantavirus outbreak, with plans to accompany American passengers back to the US on a chartered flight and place them into quarantine in Nebraska.

An additional CDC team is already headed to Nebraska, according to unnamed sources who spoke with CNN. The sources indicated that passengers are expected to undergo quarantine measures there to help prevent any possible spread of the virus. Nebraska is home to both the federally supported National Quarantine Unit and the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit.

‘Unprecedented operation’ under way to receive MV Hondius off Tenerife to assess and repatriate those onboard

• What is hantavirus?
• Where did the cruise ship hantavirus come from and what happens next?

The evacuation of the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship must be completed within 24 hours of the vessel reaching Tenerife on Sunday or face days or even weeks of delay because of bad weather, authorities in the Canary Islands warned on Friday.

The Dutch-flagged vessel, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, is due to arrive in the Spanish archipelago this weekend, triggering what Spain’s health minister has termed an “unprecedented operation” to receive, assess and repatriate the 149 passengers and crew members onboard.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — The ringgit eased against major and regional currencies including the US dollar at the close on Friday as investors remain cautious ahead of the United States non-farm payrolls (NFP) report amid renewed escalation in the West Asia conflict.

At 6pm, the ringgit inched down against the US dollar to 3.9185/9230 from 3.9070/9115 at Thursday’s close.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the NFP is expected to decline to 65,000 in April based on consensus estimates versus 178,000 in March.

“The local note softened by 0.31 per cent in light of the unsettling event in West Asia,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said profit-taking activities emerged after another West Asia conflict escalation which briefly tested risk sentiment.

He said Iranian attacks on US warships that transited the Strait of Hormuz added a fresh layer of caution towards market sentiment.

“However, the broader ceasefire narrative remains intact after President Donald Trump continued to signal that the truce is still holding,” he said.

Innes said the market still believes in the West Asia conflict de-escalation trade, which should be supportive for Asian currencies and regional risk appetite.

“On the other hand, traders are reluctant to add fresh exposure before the US jobs print, especially if a stronger-than-expected number keeps the US Federal Reserve away from the easing path and supports the greenback,” he added.

At the close, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It slipped versus the Japanese yen to 2.5010/5040 from 2.4982/5013 at Thursday’s close, eased against the British pound to 5.3354/3416 from 5.3202/3263 yesterday and fell vis-a-vis the euro to 4.6121/6174 from 4.5978/6031 previously.

The local currency was mostly lower against regional peers.

It edged down against the Singapore dollar to 3.0910/0948 from 3.0861/0901 at yesterday’s close, depreciated versus the Thai baht to 12.1640/1844 from 12.1486/1687 previously, and remained unchanged vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah at 225.4/225.7.

The ringgit was little changed against the Philippine peso to 6.46/6.47 from 6.46/6.48 at the previous close. — Bernama 

Man, 69, is in intensive care in Johannesburg, while expedition guide Martin Anstee, 56, receiving care in Netherlands

• What is hantavirus?

Two Britons who were medically evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship are improving, global health officials have said.

A British passenger, understood to be a 69-year-old man, was taken to South Africa on 27 April and is receiving care at a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg.

SINGAPORE, May 7 — Two Singapore residents who had been on board a hantavirus-hit cruise ship have been isolated as they await test results for the rare respiratory disease, Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said today.

Two men aged 65 and 67 had been on the ship and also the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to Johannesburg on April 25, the CDA said.

Both arrived in Singapore in early May and have been isolated and are being monitored at Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). The confirmed case did not travel to the city-state and died in South Africa.

“Two Singapore residents had been on board the cruise ship MV Hondius, which has reported an outbreak of Andes hantavirus. Both individuals have been isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, where they are being tested for hantavirus,” a CDA statement said.

“Their test results are pending. One has a runny nose but is otherwise well, and the other is asymptomatic. The risk to the general public in Singapore is currently low.”

If the pair test negative for hantavirus “they will be quarantined for 30 days from the date of last exposure”, CDA said, adding that “testing will be conducted again before release from quarantine”.

If they test positive, they will remain hospitalised for monitoring and treatment, and “contact tracing will be conducted to identify persons who have been exposed during the infectious period, and close contacts will be quarantined”, the CDA said.

A drone view of the cruise ship MV Hondius, carrying passengers suspected of having cases of hantavirus on board, leaves Praia, Cape Verde May 6, 2026. — Reuters/Stringer pic

The MV Hondius has been at the centre of an international health scare since Saturday, when the UN’s health agency was informed that three passengers had died and the suspected cause was hantavirus.

Eight cases, including three deaths, had been linked to the cluster on the cruise ship by Wednesday, according to CDA.

The rare disease is usually spread from infected rodents, typically through urine, droppings and saliva.

However, experts have confirmed that the version of the virus detected aboard the Hondius is a rare strain that can be transmitted between humans. — AFP

Pair left MV Hondius before outbreak was detected and are not reporting symptoms, according to UK Health Security Agency

Two people who were onboard a cruise ship hit with a deadly outbreak of hantavirus have returned to the UK and are self-isolating, British health officials have said.

Neither of the two British people, who left MV Hondius at St Helena in late April, are reporting symptoms, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKSA).

Spain says MV Hondius will be received in Canary Islands and passengers and crew treated before repatriation

• What is hantavirus, the infection thought to have killed three on cruise ship?

A British crew member who became ill after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus on a luxury cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean will be medically evacuated, as the World Health Organization (WHO) said rare human-to-human spread of the deadly virus may have occurred on the vessel.

The crew member is being prepared for medical evacuation from the MV Hondius along with a Dutch colleague, with Dutch authorities overseeing the operation.

WHO says seven confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus on MV Hondius, including three passengers who died

• What is hantavirus, the infection thought to have killed three on cruise ship?

A British crew member was in need of urgent medical care and a passenger from the UK remained in a critical but stable condition following a suspected outbreak of hantavirus on a luxury cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Three people have died and medics on Monday were scrambling to evacuate two others from the MV Hondius, which set off in March from southern Argentina carrying 149 people from 23 countries. The crisis emerged late on Sunday after the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was investigating a suspected outbreak.