Health Secretary Extends Nebraska Quarantine for Hantavirus-Exposed Passenger After Florida Rejects CDC Monitoring

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed an order Monday keeping Angela Perryman in quarantine at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center until the end of the day on Sunday, June 21.

Perryman, a 47-year-old cruise ship passenger exposed to hantavirus, has remained symptom-free as of Tuesday. She was evacuated to the Nebraska facility on May 11 along with 17 other Americans. Eight of those 18 passengers were still in the facility as of Tuesday.

Dr. Michael Bell of the CDC conducted a medical review and issued a June 11 report recommending that Perryman be allowed to return home. Bell wrote that the intent of the quarantine order could be met with home quarantine combined with direct or remote monitoring, and that Florida’s proposed once-daily temperature checks and symptom assessments were reasonable.

Florida officials refused the CDC requirement for daily in-person monitoring and round-the-clock surveillance by local law enforcement. All other states that received repatriated passengers accepted the CDC’s home-monitoring conditions, and five passengers were permitted to return to their home states.

Courtney Spencer, HHS spokeswoman, stated that Florida chose not to comply with federal monitoring requirements.

Spencer said the quarantine order is necessary to ensure both Perryman’s and her community’s wellbeing. Perryman learned on Monday that she must remain in the facility until June 21 when Kennedy’s order was slipped under her door. She said she was initially told the Nebraska quarantine was voluntary and agreed to stay voluntarily until May 22.

Perryman and one other passenger later received orders signed by acting CDC Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya requiring quarantine at the facility until May 31. Perryman can request access to a rooftop for about an hour each day under armed guard watch.

Federal officials have booked her a commercial flight to Florida after the quarantine ends Sunday. The Andes virus outbreak killed three people. The virus has a 40 percent case fatality rate, and the incubation period for hantavirus symptoms can be as long as 42 days.