WHO providing update on hantavirus outbreak

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]The World's Health Organization is providing an update tonight on the recent hantavirus outbreak trying to clear up any confusion about how long people should remain in isolation.

[00:00:09]There's a lot going to be a lot of epidemiological investigation to say this was a higher risk, this was a lower risk. But for us at WHO and for our recommendations, we've been very clear that all of the passengers and crew that were on board, we consider high risk.

[00:00:24]Yesterday, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer revealed Canada has been informed of 26 passengers who shared a flight with a person potentially infected with hantavirus. Canadian officials consider those people to be low risk while European authorities designated the travelers as being at no risk of infection. The WHO says its recommendation is for quarantine to be maintained for 42 days from the last point of exposure.