On 10 May, the UK Government safely returned all remaining British nationals on board the MV Hondius. With some passengers having returned to England earlier than this, and with the arrival for monitoring of a number of individuals from UK Overseas territories who had contact with passengers, I would like to inform the House that, as of Monday 18 May 2026, the following amendments have been laid and come into force:
The Health Protection (Notification) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 amend the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 to include hantavirus disease, including hantavirus pulmonary or cardiopulmonary syndrome and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome as a notifiable disease in schedule 1 (“Hanta virus” is already included within the list of causative agents in schedule 2).
The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 have been amended to include hantavirus in schedule 1. They have also been amended to exempt overseas visitors from NHS charging for schedule 1 diseases, where the person was brought to the UK in agreement with the UK Government for treatment or quarantine for a schedule 1 disease.
The public health assessment remains that the risk to the public is very low. I would like to pay tribute to the staff from across the health system, particularly regional health protection teams, for their ongoing efforts to support the hantavirus response and protect the public’s health. The amendments that came into force yesterday will support the UK Health Security Agency and our health partners to swiftly identify, treat and control the disease, and reduce potential financial barriers to overseas visitors in England who require NHS-funded secondary care services in relation to hantavirus.
Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010
As of 6 pm on 18 May 2026, hantavirus disease—including hantavirus pulmonary or cardiopulmonary syndrome and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome—is a notifiable disease and there is now an explicit legal duty on doctors in England to notify the proper officer of the relevant local authority if they see a patient who they suspect of having hantavirus disease. While we believe cases have been reliably notified to date, this amendment puts beyond doubt the legal obligation of doctors to report cases of suspected hantavirus disease. Placing a legal duty on doctors to report suspected hantavirus disease and provide the relevant patient information—as set out in the regulations—will strengthen our understanding of the virus and its transmission within the England and, if required, support the implementation of timely infection prevention and control measures.
There is already a legal duty on laboratories to notify the UKHSA if they identify hantavirus when they test a human sample in England, as “Hanta virus” is already included within the list of notifiable causative agents at schedule 2 of the regulations.
National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 (“the charging regulations”)
NHS charging regulations require providers of NHS-funded secondary care to make charges to people not ordinarily resident in the UK—overseas visitors—except where an exemption category applies.
We acted swiftly, and as of 6 pm on 18 May 2026, we ensured that, should an overseas visitor in England need NHS-funded secondary care services in respect of hantavirus disease, hantavirus pulmonary or cardiopulmonary syndrome and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, they will not be charged. Providing such services without charge removes a potential financial barrier to overseas visitors presenting for NHS-funded secondary care, therefore ensuring that the risk to the public’s health from infected visitors is minimised. This brings hantavirus disease into line with most other infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and covid-19.
The inclusion of hantavirus disease in schedule 1 of the charging regulations means that overseas visitors will not be charged for the diagnosis and treatment of hantavirus disease. We have also amended the charging regulations so that any charges already incurred for hantavirus disease since 1 May 2026 must be cancelled or, if paid, must be refunded.
We have also amended the charging regulations so that diagnosis and treatment for a disease in schedule 1 will remain exempt from charging, provided that the overseas visitor travelled to the UK by means of transport that has been agreed with, or funded by, the Secretary of State for supported repatriation or travel to the UK for the purposes of quarantine. This amendment will apply to all schedule 1 diseases.
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