Americans in Hantavirus Quarantine Describe Life Inside Medical Isolation Units

More than 40 Americans who were aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius remain in quarantine for up to six weeks after a hantavirus outbreak. The outbreak has killed three people and sickened 10 since it was identified during the ship's monthlong voyage in early May.

The 18 Americans on the ship arrived in the United States on Monday after spending days inside their cabins. Two patients were monitored at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta before joining 16 others on Friday at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

None of the Americans has tested positive for the virus. They could remain isolated for up to 42 days, the World Health Organization said Friday.

Conditions Inside Isolation Units Dr.

Kent Brantly spent three weeks inside Emory University Hospital’s biocontainment unit after contracting Ebola in 2014. The 11-bed unit, opened in 2005, has a dedicated laboratory and HEPA-filtered, negative-pressure rooms. Brantly lived in a room with its own bathroom and was monitored around the clock.

A nurse wearing personal protective equipment stayed at his bedside while he received IV fluids, frequent blood draws, and an experimental treatment. Nurses later coached him through physical therapy exercises and played Nerf basketball with him to pass the time.

Brantly said the medical team treated both his physical condition and his emotional well-being.

Jake Rosmarin, a Boston-based social media creator, has been inside the Nebraska facility since Monday. His room includes a bed, a smart TV, and a spin bike. Nurses deliver three meals a day, and he is allowed to order takeout. Rosmarin has decorated his room with posters of major cities and set up a tea station.

He has shared videos of his daily life, including making an iced vanilla latte with an espresso machine he acquired inside the unit. Carl Goldman spent a month at the same Omaha facility after contracting Covid-19 on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in 2020.