Risk of hantavirus pandemic 'very low,' Canada's top health official says

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Joss Reimer says she understands Canadians may find news of the hantavirus outbreak upsetting, but says the 'overall risk' of another pandemic 'is low.'

Officials from the Public Health Agency of Canada provided more details today about the Canadians affected by the hantavirus outbreak on board a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean.Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Joss Reimer, acknowledged Canadians might find news of the outbreak "upsetting" in the aftermath of COVID-19, but said the risk of another pandemic is "low" and hantavirus transmission within Canada "is not expected."Six Canadians who were exposed to the virus are asymptomatic but self-isolating at home, Reimer said. Two were passengers who left the cruise ship in late April and four might have been exposed on two separate flights.There are four more Canadians still on the MV Hondius, which is planning to dock in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday.