Health experts criticize RFK Jr hantavirus quarantine order
10 reported3 unconfirmed
Health law experts are criticizing a mandatory quarantine order issued by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr for a passenger who came into contact with a hantavirus patient, according to a single-source report. The order, which overruled a CDC deputy director’s conclusion that home quarantine was effective, has been described as “authoritarian” and “unconstitutional” by experts. The passenger, Angela Perryman, was on the MV Hondius cruise ship and came into contact with someone sickened by Andes virus, a type of hantavirus. She has appealed the federal order to quarantine in a North Dakota facility, asking instead to self-quarantine in Florida. The CDC asked states to provide in-person symptom checks and round-the-clock guards for passengers, an unusual move for a pathogen typically only transmitted between people in rare cases. Some states complied, while Florida refused. Kennedy’s decision to overrule the CDC’s medical advice is described as “unprecedented” by experts.
What’s reported
Health law experts say the Trump administration is using “authoritarian” and “unconstitutional” quarantine measures for at least one person who came into contact with a hantavirus patient.
The mandatory quarantine was reimposed without offering scientific evidence, according to the report.
Lawrence Gostin, health law professor at Georgetown University, called the detention “arbitrary, capricious and unjust.”
James Hodge, a professor at Arizona State University, said health officials should never use “unconstitutional, ill-advised, unproven techniques.”
Angela Perryman, an American passenger on the MV Hondius cruise ship, came into contact with a passenger sickened by Andes virus.
She has appealed a federal order to quarantine in a North Dakota facility, asking to self-quarantine in Florida.
CDC deputy director Michael Bell concluded Perryman could effectively quarantine at home with daily remote symptom monitoring.
On June 15, Robert F Kennedy Jr overrode that conclusion and continued the mandatory quarantine, citing no scientific rationale.
HHS spokesperson Courtney Spencer said Kennedy “specifically considered the medical recommendation before deciding to continue the current order.”
The agency did not answer questions about why Kennedy overruled the CDC or whether this sets an unconstitutional precedent.
Open questions
Why Kennedy overruled the CDC’s medical recommendation.
Whether this sets an unconstitutional precedent for responding to other pathogens.
The outcome of Perryman’s appeal.
Key figures
Robert F Kennedy Jr, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Lawrence Gostin, health law professor at Georgetown University law center
James Hodge, professor and director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Angela Perryman, American passenger on the MV Hondius cruise ship
Michael Bell, deputy director of the division of healthcare quality promotion (DHQP) at the CDC
Courtney Spencer, HHS spokesperson
Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health
Sources: The Guardian
