Trump says hantavirus situation ‘under very good control’ as Tenerife port prepares to dock ship

9 May 2026 • 8:31 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Trump says hantavirus situation ‘under very good control’ as Tenerife port prepares to dock ship

Donald Trump has said the hantavirus outbreak onboard a cruise ship is ‘under very good control’ as the Granadilla port in Tenerife prepares to dock the vessel.

Speaking to reporters at the White House before leaving for a dinner at his golf course in Virginia on Friday (8 May), Trump said “ we seem to have things under very good control” as the World Health Organisation “know that virus very well”.

He added how the virus is not easy to pass on, “unlike COVID”.

The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship is due to arrive in Tenerife early on Sunday (10 May), where repatriation flights will be waiting to fly passengers home.