President Donald Trump attempted to quell Americans' concerns over the recent hantavirus outbreak on Thursday, boldly stating that the U.S. "should be fine."
Trump told reporters while visiting the Lincoln Memorial to check in on the ongoing Reflecting Pool paint job, "Well, I think you're going to be told everything, and you already have." He added, "It's very much, we hope, under control. It was the ship, and I think we're going to make a full report about it tomorrow. We have a lot of people, a lot of great people studying it. It should be fine, we hope."
The MV Hondius luxury cruise ship, which left Argentina on April 1, has been at the center of attention in recent days following the outbreak, with a total of eight cases being confirmed or suspected. In addition to the sick passengers, three people have died. The vessel is now anchored near the Canary Islands.
When Trump was asked by a reporter if "Americans should be concerned that it is going to spread," he simply responded, "I hope not." The president added, "I mean, I hope not. We'll do the best we can."
Officials from the World Health Organization say the virus is unlikely to spread globally as COVID-19 did. "This is not coronavirus," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said. "This is a very different virus. We know this virus. Hantavirus has been around for quite a while." Abdirahman Mahamud, the WHO's alert and response director, also claimed, "This will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity is shown across all countries."
