Covid: UK's quarantine hospital in Wirral marks second anniversary

The returnees were held for 14 days in a staff accommodation block behind Arrowe Park Hospital

The hospital which was used as the UK's quarantine site at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic has marked the second anniversary of welcoming its first "repatriated guests".

Staff accommodation at Wirral's Arrowe Park Hospital was used to house people returning from China in January 2020.

Local people supported those held at the site, donating food and gifts.

Chief executive Janelle Holmes said she remained "very proud" of the response by staff and people living nearby.

She said Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's "journey in facing COVID-19 started much earlier than some areas", at a point when the situation had "not yet become a pandemic".

A message of thanks was left on the window of the quarantine block

The site, which has been lit up to mark the anniversary, was used to house UK citizens coming back from Wuhan, which had been identified as the source of Covid-19, and on 31 January 2020, 83 Britons were taken by coach from RAF Brize Norton to Wirral to begin a 14-day quarantine period.

It was the first time a site had been used to quarantine people since 1978 and the block also welcomed those brought from the Diamond Princess cruise liner in February 2020.

During the confinements, people living near the hospital sent those inside toys, board games, wine, flowers and birthday cakes.

Wirral Council's assistant chief executive David Armstrong also delivered a ring one man had bought for his wife for her birthday, along with a cake and a bottle of Cava.

A message from those being quarantined was left on the window of the accommodation block, thanking all those who were involved in their care.

The hospital has been lit up to mark the second anniversary of the first arrivals

Ms Holmes said the "community spirit in making the guests welcome was outstanding and all repatriated guests left our site with a clean bill of health".

"I am very proud of how quickly we responded as a trust," she added.