Eight Americans walked out of a Nebraska medical facility on Monday after spending six weeks in enforced isolation following exposure to a deadly hantavirus aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic. The group had been held at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha since mid-May, when they were evacuated from the MV Hondius after an outbreak killed three people and sickened 13 others aboard the Dutch-flagged vessel.
The US Health and Human Services Department confirmed the quarantine had ended, calling the 42-day isolation period necessary to protect public health. But at least one passenger disputed that rationale and the government's legal authority to confine her for so long.
Angela Perryman told the Associated Press that she and seven others were informed on Sunday that they could leave immediately. She said they were kept in their rooms until nearly 2 p.m., when staff told them to gather their belongings and depart. Perryman paid for an evening flight to Florida that she said was reimbursed by the government, while most of the others left the following day.
"We were locked in our rooms until 1.55pm," Perryman said. "And at two o'clock, 'OK, well, everybody walk out and go home.'"
Health law experts said Perryman's case highlights serious constitutional concerns. Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown University's law center, called the detention "arbitrary, it's capricious and it's unjust," noting there was no crime and no significant public health risk to justify holding someone against their will. James Hodge, director of the public health law center at Arizona State University, warned that officials should never employ "unconstitutional, ill-advised, unproven techniques" to manage disease outbreaks.
The quarantine order contradicted guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which had recommended that exposed individuals self-monitor at home. The decision to forcibly isolate the group came after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. overruled the CDC's recommendation. Perryman accused Kennedy of orchestrating what she called "a political stunt."
Eighteen Americans had been transferred to the Omaha facility in early May. None showed signs of infection during their confinement. The Andes strain of hantavirus is known to have an incubation period of up to 42 days, which health officials said justified the extended isolation period. It spreads when people inhale particles from infected rodent droppings and is the only hantavirus strain transmissible between humans.
The cruise ship outbreak claimed the lives of a Dutch couple believed to have been exposed while traveling in South America. At least 30 other passengers disembarked before the virus was detected. Seven Americans who left the ship early were permitted to quarantine at home, while 25 crew members and two medical personnel were required to isolate in the Netherlands.
Those held in Omaha passed the time in hotel-style rooms equipped with desks, televisions, internet access, and exercise equipment. Restaurants and food trucks in the area delivered meals nearly every day, and staff occasionally arranged coffee runs. One passenger, Jake Rosmarin, a Boston-based travel blogger with a substantial social media following, posted videos documenting his release on Monday. In one emotional message, he thanked the quarantine unit staff and Omaha community for treating the group with "kindness, compassion, and humanity." He posted another video from his airplane window as he flew back to his fiance and family.
Author James Rodriguez: "Locking people up for six weeks without evidence they posed any danger, then telling them to leave without warning, isn't public health policy, it's theater that destroys trust in legitimate disease control measures."
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