Oxford News
Oxford vaccine expert speaks out after cruise evacuation
The crew member, understood to be a doctor on the ship, along with a Dutch crew member and another passenger were taken from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius for onward travel to the Netherlands, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
Spanish health officials said the British medic is now in a more “stable condition” after previously being in a “critical condition”.
The evacuation means the ship can now continue on its three-day journey to the Canary Islands after Spanish authorities gave permission for the boat to dock.
But a row erupted after the president of the Canary Islands expressed concern over the ship docking in Tenerife.
Commenting on the variant of the virus linked to the outbreak, the Andes virus, Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “With this particular hantavirus, the Andes virus, it is known very rarely to spread between people with close contact, usually symptomatic individuals who are in close contact with each other.
“That’s important because it means it is very easy to isolate people who are unwell and to follow sort of quarantine and so on to avoid spread to other people.”
He added: “I think the risk is essentially zero of spread outside of this particular outbreak, because the authorities have recognised this and they know exactly what to do to make sure that the individuals are isolated and there’s no-one with transmission now that we know what we’re dealing with.”
It comes as the Associated Press reported the Argentine government’s hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching outing in the city of Ushuaia before boarding.
Two Argentine officials told the news agency that the couple visited a landfill during the bird-watching tour where they may have been exposed to rodents carrying the infection.
The ship has been anchored off Cape Verde while arrangements were put in place to evacuate the crew members.
Passengers are confined to their cabins while “disinfection and other public health measures are carried out”, the WHO said on Tuesday.
Tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions said two infectious disease doctors are being sent from the Netherlands to the ship and will “remain with the vessel after its anticipated departure from Cape Verde”.
The leader of the regional government of the Canaries expressed concern over the plan for onward travel to Tenerife, with Fernando Clavijo writing on X that he has requested a meeting with Spanish President Pedro Sanchez “due to the lack of co-ordination and information regarding the cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak”.
In a briefing, Spanish health minister Monica Garcia said none of the remaining passengers on board have symptoms.
She said the boat will dock in Tenerife and people will be repatriated to their own countries with “medical guarantees”, and “all the transportation will be done trying to avoid contact with local citizens”.
Jose Miguel Cisneros Herreros, head of the infectious diseases department at the Virgen del Rocio University Hospital in Seville, said: “It is right for the Spanish government to allow the ship to dock in our country, because the passengers and crew need to disembark and be assessed, and we are the nearest country with a healthcare system capable of doing so.”
Some 19 British nationals were listed as passengers on the ship, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, with four British crew members.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said plans are being made for the “safe onward travel” of Britons on the ship.
On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The Foreign Office is working urgently to support the UKHSA’s (UK Health Security Agency’s) work overseas and to make sure British nationals on the MV Hondius can all get safely home with proper protection for public health.
“Foreign Office consular staff are in direct contact with British nationals onboard the ship and stand ready to provide further assistance to any British national in need of support overseas 24/7 – our crisis response centre has been operating for the last few days to provide support.
“Ministers are in close touch with our Dutch and Spanish counterparts and we have been working with other countries to facilitate the medical evacuations, to support our overseas territories and to get British nationals home safely as quickly as possible.”
Posh Spice and David Beckham have submitted plans to build a new oak balcony at Maplewood Barn, in the 44th application they’ve made since renaming the home they bought a decade ago.
In that time David and Victoria Beckham have been embroiled in numerous rows with neighbours and accused of ‘drip-feeding’ development there.
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And the latest scheme has raised accusations of ‘hypocrisy’ after they had previously accused a neighbour wanting a balcony at their London home of spoiling their privacy.
Documents submitted on behalf of the Beckhams said the latest scheme involved replacing the “Crittall-style screen and doors” and installing an “oak balcony to the western elevation.”
They wrote: “The proposed replacement Crittall-style screen and doors, together with the new oak-framed balcony to the west elevation, have been carefully designed to consider the character and significance of Maplewood Barn and its listed setting.
“The works are to the modern west range constructed as part of the approved barn conversion and will not result in the loss of, or harm to, any historic fabric associated with the original Grade II listed buildings.
“The replacement glazing will match the existing design, proportions, and colour, ensuring visual continuity with the existing barns, while the oak balcony introduces a simple and sympathetic addition that reflects existing timber detailing within the development.
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“Given the small scale of the proposals, and their location within a later addition to the dwelling, it is considered that the works preserve the special architectural and historic interest of the listed buildings and their setting.”
No public comments have so far been submitted but it comes six years after the Beckhams fought a furious planning battle with neighbours at their Holland Park home in London over renovation plans – including their desire for a balcony.
In 2020 they eventually lost the battle to stop the neighbour drastically updating a posh property close to their £31million townhouse.
The celebrity couple had expressed concerns that the neighbour’s architect was creating a whole new patio area including a balcony on the first floor, which may have overlooked their back garden.
Amended plans were approved when a council officer’s report dismissed any privacy fears.
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At the time they stated: “There are no concerns with the impact of the proposal on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers in terms of light, sense of enclosure, noise or privacy.”
The couple have also been involved in multiple rows over work at their Grade-II listed country house at Maplewood Barn, near Great Tew in Oxfordshire
Since buying the three listed barns for £6,150,000 in 2016, they have added a new driveway and gates, an additional garage outbuilding, tennis court, treehouse, security hut, extension to the garage outbuilding and a landscaped pond.
This Oxford Mail archive gallery of pictures show shots mostly taken by staff photographer Jon Lewis in the summer of 2006.
From the city to the towns and villages of the county, this collection shows a range of summer fun from two decades ago.
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End-of-term school events feature in this collection, with school plays and sports days both featured.
Pictures of friendly World Cup rivalry between opposing team’s fans show not much has changed in some respects over the past 20 years.
Take a look back through this Oxford Mail archive gallery to be transported back to June 2006.
Thames Valley Police’s roads policing department focused operations on two-wheeled vehicles in Oxford today, Sunday, June 28, catching multiple riders committing driving offences.
One of them was a rider who was allegedly ‘drug driving’, who was arrested for the offence.
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Police said six other vehicles were seized for having no insurance and two for having no road tax, with more than one of them delivery riders who had to ‘complete their deliveries on foot’.
Officers said: “We’re sorry if this meant your zesty beverages were slightly warm on arrival.”
Two other seizures were for e-bikes being ridden illegally, one of which was clocked travelling at 56km/h without any pedalling from the rider.
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A spokesperson for the force said: “Our advice – tax and Insure your vehicle, don’t drive if you’re not licenced and don’t use an e-bike capable of travelling at the national speed limit.
“Failing that, we’ll catch up with you later in the week and take your vehicle off your hands – for a small fee of course.”
Laws on riding e-bikes in the UK state that they must have pedal assist only power, a power limited of no more than 250 watts and should travel at a maximum of 15.5mph, or 25km/h.
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