'More Cases Likely To Emerge': WHO Chief Reiterates Hantavirus Not Like Covid

Last Updated:May 11, 2026, 23:26 IST

WHO chief Tedros warns more Hantavirus cases likely from MV Hondius while Trump says response is fine and rejects calls to rejoin WHO.

World Health Organization’s chief on Monday said more cases of Hantavirus will likely emerge after more passengers of MV Hondius reported positive for the virus.

“The incubation for hantavirus or Andes virus ranges (from) six to eight weeks. So we expect more cases to come actually, but I hope they will be as small as possible," WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told CNN in an exclusive interview at the Grenadilla port in Tenerife.

“We already have one confirmed, you know, the passenger from France, and I expect actually more because of the long incubation period," he said, referring to a woman who tested positive for the virus after reaching France.

Besides the French woman, a passenger on the US evacuation flight tested positive for hantavirus despite being asymptomatic.

He, however, urged people to remain calm over the outbreak while reiterating that this virus was “not another Covid".

“The situation of the French passenger is deteriorating now. Imagine if that happened in the ship and her fate would have been more dangerous actually. So she’s in good hands and she’s protected now, and other passengers as well, they’re in good hands," he said.

Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said three New Yorkers are among those who returned from the cruise ship.

“We dont know whether those individuals will be returning to New York. I believe there is a 42-day monitoring period, and they can decide whether they want to do that in Nebraska or come back and make other accommodations," she said.

According to CNN, there are currently 18 people being monitored for hantavirus in US medical facilities, of which 16 are at the University of Nebraska — one is in the biocontainment unit after testing positive and 15 are in the quarantine unit. Each of those individuals are currently asymptomatic.

During a press conference at the Oval Office, President Donald Trump pointed out that the US has done “fine" in its handling of the hantavirus outbreak.

“I hope it’s fine. All I can do is everything that a president can do, which is actually somewhat limited," he said.

While Trump said that the US is “in very good shape", CDC’s acting director of the division of high-consequence pathogens and pathology, Dr. Brendan Jackson, said, “There are no guarantees in life. (But) we’re putting as many measures in place as possible to ensure that people are safe and healthy."

He further said that each passenger is being monitored for symptoms. “They have plans in place to make sure that they can isolate effectively in their home should they develop symptoms."

Amid concerns over Hantavirus outbreak, Trump rejected suggestions that the US should rejoin the World Health Organization (WHO).

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