With the media stoking fears over a potential sequel to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC’s acting director dropped a reality check on the hantavirus outbreak.
Passengers aboard an infected cruise ship disembarked on Sunday, and 17 Americans on board are expected to be returning to the States, raising fears about the spread of the virus in a repeat of the 2020 pandemic.
“Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – were reported to have died from the virus, a rare disease typically caused by exposure to infected rat waste, after the cruise ship left Argentina last month,” the Daily Mail reported.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya told CNN that the agency has been “absolutely on top of this outbreak” and that there will be no repeat of COVID.
Acting CDC Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya on the hantavirus outbreak: “This is not COVID… we shouldn’t be panicking when the evidence doesn’t warrant it.” pic.twitter.com/6qCkNE7aBE
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 10, 2026
“This is not COVID, Jake, and we don’t want to treat it like COVID,” Bhattacharya told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” after the host rolled out a list of concerns from “a lot of public health officials.”
“We don’t want to cause a public panic over this. We want to treat it with the hantavirus protocols that we – that, again, were successful in containing outbreaks in the past. And so we followed those protocols,” he continued. “This health alert is coming up because, again, there’s this discrete event of the 17 arriving in the United States very, very soon. And so we just want to make sure that the medical community understands this.”
He noted that the communications have kept up as “the press attention has picked up more,” emphasizing the “key message” to share with viewers.
“The key message I want to send to your audience is that this is not COVID. This is not going to lead to [that] kind of outbreak,” Bhattacharya told Tapper. “And I’m pleased by – to hear your – the opening segment, where you emphasized that, because we shouldn’t be panicking when the evidence doesn’t warrant it.”
The CDC is working along with the World Health Organization, and the 17 American passengers who were aboard the ship will be interviewed and assessed.
“If they weren’t in close contact with someone who was symptomatic, then we’re going to deem them a low risk. If they were in close contact, we’re going to deem them a medium or high risk,” Bhattacharya explained.
“To the American people, I say that the CDC has absolutely been working night and day to stay on top of this, to keep you safe from outbreaks like this,” Bhattacharya added. “You want to moderate the response to the actual epidemiological threat. And so that’s what we did with this hantavirus threat. As you said, Jake, if the threat level were higher, then we would have obviously reacted differently.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
- CDC boss douses media’s hopes for COVID sequel - May 11, 2026
- Trump sacks greedy NFL over streaming, ‘stupid’ kickoff - May 11, 2026
- Trump trolls Dem governor with AI image of him stuffing his face - May 11, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.