Topline
World Health Organization Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday directly responded to far-right commentator and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ claims that the United Nations agency was manufacturing propaganda about the Hantavirus.
The WHO director said no hantavirus deaths have been recorded since May 2.
Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Ghebreyesus, directly addressing Jones’ claim that WHO has launched “COVID 2.0,” said in a post on X that there is no “rollout” or “hype” around the recent ship-based Hantavirus outbreak and added “there are only 10 confirmed cases globally, and no deaths have been recorded since May 2.”
Jones claimed in an episode of his show earlier this week that health officials would try to fraudulently report hantavirus cases, saying, “They did it before, they’re clearly doing it again” before alleging the fraudulent reports were a “cover for the crashing world economy.”
Ghebreyesus acknowledged COVID “took loved ones, disrupted lives, and shook our trust in the institutions meant to protect us,” but noted “the facts today tell a different story,” saying that because all recent hantavirus deaths are linked to the cruise ship outbreak, the WHO maintains the disease’s risk to the global population is low.
News Peg
More than 40 people in the U.S. are being monitored for hantavirus in connection to the cruise ship outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday there were no cases in the U.S. and that the risk to the public remained low, CNBC reported.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.