[Video below.] Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday that U.S. authorities have the hantavirus situation “under control” following the outbreak linked to a cruise ship carrying American passengers.

The remarks came during an Oval Office press conference focused on mental health, where a reporter asked President Donald Trump whether he regretted withdrawing from the World Health Organization in light of the incident involving a hantavirus-stricken vessel with more than a dozen Americans on board.

Trump responded that he was “glad” the United States had exited the WHO and reiterated his position that the country had been contributing excessive funding to the organization.

When pressed on whether U.S. health agencies are equipped to respond to a potential hantavirus outbreak despite staffing and budget reductions during Trump’s second term, Kennedy pointed to an immediate federal response.

“We’ve had CDC teams on it from day one.”

“I was speaking with the University of Nebraska since the second day of the outbreak. I was speaking with Gov. Pillen of Nebraska. We had a CDC team at Tenerife. We had airplanes ready to take the patients, the 17 patients off the vessel and transport,” Kennedy continued. “Two of them went to Atlanta. One of those was symptomatic. They’re in a biocontainment lab in Atlanta. The other 16 are now in Nebraska. One of them is symptomatic.”

“We have this under control, and we’re not worried about it,” he added.

Kennedy’s comments align with assessments from other public health officials regarding the hantavirus cases connected to the MV Hondius, a deadly outbreak that has so far been contained. Both the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have indicated that the broader public remains at low risk.

During a separate briefing Monday, WHO officials said all remaining passengers and crew from the MV Hondius are expected to disembark by the end of the day.

“They are departing Canary Islands by specially arranged flights,” WHO Manager of Health Emergencies Communication Nyka Alexander said in the briefing. “Nobody is traveling on commercial flights.”

Oliver le Polain, who leads the WHO’s Epidemiology and Analytics for Response unit, said there have been nine confirmed hantavirus cases tied to the cruise ship, including three fatalities. The latest case involves a French passenger who left the vessel Sunday and is currently in isolation, while one additional case remains inconclusive.

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{Matzav.com}