SEATTLE — Public Health – Seattle & King County officials are monitoring a fourth King County resident for possible exposure to the Andes type of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, health officials said Friday.

The Washington State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified local health officials on May 14 about the additional resident, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County.

RELATED | What exactly is hantavirus and how concerned should Washington residents be?

The resident did not travel on the cruise ship but was aboard a flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam with an ill cruise ship passenger before departure.

Officials said the sick passenger was removed from the aircraft before the flight left Johannesburg and later tested positive for the virus.

The infected passenger began traveling before the outbreak was reported to the World Health Organization.

The King County resident is considered at low risk for infection because they were not seated near the ill passenger, health officials said.

The resident has returned to King County, remains asymptomatic, and is monitoring for symptoms.

Earlier this week, Public Health announced that three King County residents were under monitoring for the Andes type of hantavirus.

Two of those residents had been seated near the infected passenger on the Johannesburg-to-Amsterdam flight. Both have returned home to King County, remain symptom-free, and are monitoring for symptoms in coordination with public health officials.

A third King County resident who was a passenger aboard the MV Hondius is being monitored alongside other American passengers at the national quarantine center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Officials said that the resident remains asymptomatic.

Health officials said there are currently no cases of Andes-type hantavirus in King County, and no residents are showing symptoms. The risk to the public remains low, officials said.

“We were informed yesterday of a fourth individual with a low-risk exposure and were able to reach the resident today,” Dr. Sandra J. Valenciano, health officer and acting director for Public Health – Seattle & King County, said in a statement. “All our residents are following public health protocols, and the risk to the King County community remains low.”

Valenciano said monitoring exposed individuals allows health officials to support residents while ensuring early detection and rapid public health response if symptoms develop.

Hantavirus infections are rare but can cause severe illness.

The viruses are primarily spread through contact with wild rodents and exposure to their urine, droppings, or saliva.

According to health officials, the Andes virus is the only known hantavirus capable of spreading from person to person, typically through close physical contact, prolonged exposure in enclosed spaces, or contact with body fluids from an infected person.

On days with a FIFA World Cup match, Metro will also run a Match Day Shuttle. The Match Day shuttle will run every 3-7 minutes on the dates listed below. This route runs between Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field) and Seattle Center, via 3rd Ave.

The Match Day shuttle operates on:

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• Monday, June 15th: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Friday, June 19th: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Wednesday, June 24th: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Friday, June 26th: 5:00 pm to 1:00 am
• Wednesday, July 1st: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Monday, July 6th: 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Both shuttle routes are free and will use ADA accessible buses. Everyone is welcome onboard, not just those attending the World Cup matches.

This is an open thread.

SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is reshuffling her senior staff, naming Esther Handy as interim chief of staff and shifting other roles within the mayor’s office as the administration continues to refine its internal structure.

In a statement to her team, Wilson said Handy will step into the interim chief of staff role while former chief of staff Kate Brunette Kreuzer transitions into “a new special projects role within the office” and continues to oversee intergovernmental affairs work. Wilson said she is “deeply grateful to Kate,” calling her “instrumental in creating a strong internal culture” and “a key leader in launching my new administration during a fast-moving transition period.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Seattle mayor’s verbal missteps prompt national and viral attention, leadership questions

Wilson also said the mayor’s office is “centralizing our council relations under Deputy Mayor Surratt, in partnership with our council liaison Tracey Whitten.”

Wilson said she assembled a team with a mix of experience inside and outside government and that the early phase of the administration has included “learning what works well and what may need to change in order to continue to effectively move forward on our key priorities.” According to Wilson, Handy will continue an ongoing process “to assess and make recommendations related to our staffing capacity and team structures.”

Wilson said Handy has more than a decade of local government experience, most recently as an executive operations manager in the mayor’s office and formerly as director of council central staff. Wilson also cited Handy’s organizational development experience, including serving as an interim executive director at Puget Sound Sage and the Washington Budget and Policy Center.

While I understand change can be unsettling,” Wilson said, “I want to assure all of you of that it is common for a new administration to refine its internal staffing roles.

Wilson also noted two additional departures planned since the beginning of her term. She said that in early July, Jen Chan, director of city operations, will complete a six-month commitment with the office and return later this summer to her deputy executive director role at the Seattle Housing Authority. Wilson said Edie Gilliss will also wrap up a six-month commitment as director of the mayor’s office operations and pipeline in early July and return to her role as government affairs and policy director with the Office of Sustainability and Environment.

Wilson said her focus remains on “expanding shelter, making our city more affordable, livable, and safe, creating irresistibly good transit, and building a more inclusive and accountable government.”

Staff shakeup comes after turbulent times in mayor’s office

The staff shakeup comes after a series of verbal missteps by Wilson that prompted national and viral attention, along with questions about her leadership.

On April 28, gunfire erupted near the Yesler Community Center during an event attended by Wilson, prompting security to escort her to safety. No injuries were reported, and police have said there is no indication the shooting was targeted.

In the days after the incident, Wilson said she was “doing great” and described the shooting outside the Yesler Community Center as “a reminder of how much work we have to do” on gun violence. When asked whether the experience changed her views on city policy, including surveillance measures, she initially declined to engage and later indicated her position had not fundamentally shifted.

Wilson later addressed the surveillance policy question on May 5. “I believe that CCTV cameras have an important role to play in our public safety system, and we also have to be very careful to make sure that our data storage and sharing practices don’t make that system vulnerable to misuse or abuse,” she said.

During another exchange with KOMO News on May 1, a junior Seattle Public Utilities staffer interrupted questioning and insisted the conversation remain focused on an event and “on topic,” suggesting a separate interview be scheduled. The moment mirrored a separate on-camera interaction in which Wilson declined to comment on Starbucks moving jobs to new corporate office space in Nashville, saying it was not the topic of her press conference.

The mayor also drew attention after she laughed aside concerns about wealthy individuals and businesses leaving the city, responding with a “bye” when she was asked during an April event at Seattle University whether she was concerned the policy could prompt wealthy residents and businesses to leave Washington state.

However, she praised major employers, including Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, and T-Mobile, for contributing millions of dollars toward affordable housing and homelessness programs during a May 7 event for the redevelopment of the Brighton housing community near Rainier Avenue, striking a notably collaborative tone after recent national attention surrounding her criticism of large corporations and support for new business taxes.