Canadian officials have reported that one of four Canadians returning from a cruise ship with a hantavirus outbreak has a “presumptive positive” test result. Confirmation from the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg is expected soon. British Columbia's public health officer says the patient in their 70s is stable with mild symptoms. The outbreak on the MV Hondius has led to three deaths and 12 cases. Nine of them are confirmed. Henry reassures that hantavirus isn't like COVID-19 and lacks pandemic potential. She emphasizes that infection control measures are in place to ensure public safety.

The Food and Drug Administration's top drug official is leaving in the latest shake-up at the powerful health agency. Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg said in a social media post late Friday that she was fired from the FDA. She had been leading efforts scrutinizing antidepressants, COVID-19 vaccines and other therapies at FDA. Her departure follows the resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary earlier in the week. The FDA has been rocked for months by layoffs, leadership upheavals and scientific controversies. Hoeg and Makary both came to the agency as medical contrarians and critics of COVID-19 health measures. That stance aligned with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s agenda.

Six passengers from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak have arrived in Australia for a quarantine expected to last at least three weeks. The jet carrying five Australians and one person from New Zealand landed Friday at an air base outside Perth in Western Australia. The passengers and crew were to spend their quarantine in a facility built for the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia's health minister says all six tested negative for the virus. Three people among the 11 cases in the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius ship have died. The ship was on a cruise from Argentina to the Antarctic and then to several South Atlantic islands when the outbreak was identified.

The coronavirus pandemic's impact lingers, influencing our lives in both obvious and subtle ways. Work-from-home jobs, mask-wearing and hand sanitizers are now common. Some effects are less visible, like grief, chronic health conditions and interrupted lives. Recently, a rare hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sparked fears of another pandemic. Despite reassurances of low risk, the fear highlights a deeper issue: There's been an erosion of trust. It raises questions about who people now rely on for guidance and understanding. Arizona State University research professor and sociologist Elisa Jayne Bienenstock says COVID-19 undermined confidence in science for people who don’t understand how science works.