President Donald Trump said Monday he is satisfied with the government response to a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that resulted in three fatalities.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump described the pathogen as "not easy to spread" and said the United States was in "very good shape" after the incident aboard the Hondius, a Dutch-flagged vessel that required a coordinated, multi-country effort to evacuate passengers.
The Department of Health and Human Services said late Sunday in a post on X that all 17 U.S. citizens who had been on the ship have arrived in Nebraska for medical assessment after being airlifted by the State Department. As a precautionary measure, two passengers were transported in biocontainment units.
According to the department, one person has a confirmed case of hantavirus and another passenger is exhibiting mild symptoms. HHS provided that update after the multi-country evacuation effort that moved passengers off the Hondius.
At the White House briefing, Trump also praised the handling of the situation in Nebraska, saying the state had done a "fantastic job" managing the response and care of those flown in for evaluation.
While details about broader public-health steps or additional testing were not provided in the statements cited, the sequence of actions described by officials and the president emphasized a cross-jurisdictional evacuation, targeted medical precautions for specific passengers, and state-level assessment following the airlift.
The incidents aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship and the subsequent federal and state responses formed the basis of the statements from both the president and the Department of Health and Human Services, which relayed the status of the U.S. citizens involved.
Officials reported that the evacuation and arrival in Nebraska were completed through coordination that involved airlift assistance from the State Department and medical transport using biocontainment units for those deemed to require additional precaution.
As described by the Department of Health and Human Services and relayed by the president, the situation included at least one confirmed hantavirus case, one passenger with mild symptoms, the transport of 17 U.S. citizens to Nebraska for assessment, and the use of biocontainment units for two individuals, while authorities and state officials continued to manage the response.