00:00Thank you, Mr. President.
00:02What do you think about the handling of the Hunter virus by the U.S.?
00:08Do you regret the drawing from the WHO, given that?
00:13No, I'm glad.
00:14So, we were paying the World Health Organization $500 million a year.
00:22Look, it's a lot of money, but in the overall scope, it's not that much, but it's a lot of
00:25money.
00:27And we weren't being treated well.
00:30And they were making the wrong diagnoses.
00:32I was the one that said it came from Wuhan.
00:34They didn't say that.
00:35They refused to say that because they were totally owned by China.
00:39So, I was saying it came from Wuhan.
00:42They didn't want to say that.
00:43Now, it's turned out, I think it's conclusive that it came from Wuhan.
00:46But I said that on the first day because I saw satellite pictures with body bags all over Wuhan.
00:52Literally all over Wuhan.
00:55So, I said that they lied to me or they didn't know.
00:58So, we were paying for, let's say, 350 million people.
01:03We were paying $500 million a year to the World Health Organization.
01:09That's a lot of money.
01:09What the hell are they going to do with that kind of money?
01:11And China was paying $39 million a year for 1.4 billion people.
01:18So, I said, you know, you got your story wrong because we should be paying about $10 million, not $500
01:24million.
01:25And they were willing to negotiate.
01:27But it was so popular when I pulled out.
01:29They gave us all wrong information.
01:31On COVID, they were totally wrong.
01:33And I looked today and I saw the same doctor that was there.
01:37He's a good politician.
01:38I don't know how the hell he kept his shot.
01:39But he was there telling us about this.
01:41Now, the one thing with this one is that it's much harder to catch.
01:47And we've had it for a long time.
01:48It's been around for a long time.
01:50People are very familiar with it.
01:51So, you know, I hope it's fine.
01:54All I can do is everything that a president can do, which is actually somewhat limited.
02:00But it seems like it is not easy to spread.
02:06In fact, it's, in certain ways, very hard to spread.
02:10It's been, we've lived with it for years, many years.
02:14And we think we're in very good shape.
02:16We're very careful.
02:16And Nebraska has done a fantastic job.
02:19They have a place there that those doctors are unbelievable, the job they've done.
02:26Part of the passengers, we have around 17 Americans.
02:38This is a question for the United States.
02:41With passengers flying home to the United States, what is your message to Americans who are still scared?
02:51Yeah.
02:52Thank you very much.
02:53That's a very important question.
02:55By the way, as part of the passengers, we have around 17 Americans.
03:04And coming to your question, we have been repeating the same question, the same answer many times.
03:12This is not another COVID.
03:15And the risk to the public is low.
03:21So they shouldn't be scared and they shouldn't panic.
03:26This is based on how the virus is behaving now, because this virus is well known.
03:35And there are assessments that have been done.
03:38But not only that, this, you know, for several years, there were assessments on the behavior of the virus.
03:47So that's why we say the risk is low.
03:51So I want them to really take that, because based on scientific assessment and based on evidence, as ministers said,
04:05the risk is low.
04:06So they shouldn't worry.
04:08But the other part is all countries are taking precautions, including the U.S.
04:14We're in contact with U.S. colleagues, both in Atlanta and there are also some here in Tenerife.
04:21And they are monitoring everything.
04:25And they have made all preparations.
04:27They have their plan in place.
04:30I think the aircraft is arriving any time today.
04:34So they have made all the precautions.
04:38And I hope the American people will have faith in their experts also who are already working on this.
04:48And then, of course, the coordination, the leadership by Spain here and all countries involved also is strong here.
04:56That's why, by the way, we chose Tenerife based on the IHR, a strong response here, strong capacity here.
05:03So that should also give them the confidence that this is being managed very well.
05:09So that's what I would like to say.
05:12And WHO is also here supporting to make the American people safe and the rest of the world also safe.
05:20But there is another issue, because we are fixated on the ship now.
05:25But as you know, the last death from the current outbreak was on May 2nd.
05:32So we haven't recorded any death after that.
05:36And as you know, there were a number who were evacuated and disembarked.
05:39And that's also good news.
05:42And we hope there will not be any death, but we will monitor strictly.
05:54A confirmed case of Hantavirus has now been reported in the U.S., linked to an international outbreak originating from
06:02a cruise ship expedition that recently traveled through remote regions of the southern hemisphere.
06:07Health authorities say the case is connected to the MV Hondias, a Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship that sailed from
06:16Ushuaia, Argentina in early April 2026, with routes including Antarctica and surrounding remote areas.
06:24The outbreak being tracked is the Andesvirus strain, a rare form of Hantavirus known for its potential, in limited conditions,
06:33for person-to-person transmission.
06:34So far, officials confirm a total of eight cases connected to the ship, including six laboratory-confirmed infections and two
06:44suspected cases, along with three reported deaths.
06:47In the United States, health officials have confirmed at least one case among passengers who were repatriated after exposure on
06:55the vessel.
06:56Another individual is under medical observation with mild symptoms while testing continues.
07:02Several American passengers have been placed under quarantine and monitoring in multiple states, including Nebraska, as part of CDC-controlled
07:12isolation protocols.
07:13Authorities emphasize that the general public risk remains extremely low, and there is currently no evidence of community spread within
07:22the United States.
07:23The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is actively tracking all returning passengers and close contacts, with state health departments
07:32involved in monitoring across multiple regions.
07:35Experts explain that Hantavirus infections are rare in the U.S., typically caused by rodent exposure in rural western areas,
07:44and most annual cases remain very low nationwide.
07:48However, this particular outbreak is unusual due to its connection to international travel and a cruise ship environment, where close
07:57contact may have contributed to limited transmission.
08:00Global health agencies, including the World Health Organization, are also monitoring the situation as investigations continue into how the outbreak
08:10began and spread on board.
08:12For now, officials are urging continued surveillance, early symptom reporting, and strict monitoring of exposed individuals while investigations remain ongoing.
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